The ‘Buck’ stops here
Back Space to screen award-winning documentary

by Stew Mosberg

Maybe you believe in horse whisperers and maybe you don’t, but there’s a good chance after seeing the film “Buck” you will come away with a new found respect for the genre.

Jane Julian, film coordinator at the Back Space Theatre, saw “Buck,” a documentary, at the Sundance Film Festival where it won People’s Favorite, a cinematic hat-trick for first time Director Cindy Meehl.

Considering the number of equestrians and horse ranchers in and around Durango, the film seems a logical choice for a local screening. But according to Julian, the rationale went a lot deeper than that. “It’s a really awesome film,” she said when describing why the Back Space elected to show the film three times a day for the next two weeks beginning July 1.

Scoring a coup and thrilled to get the documentary so soon after winning several awards, Julian quipped, “I had to act fast. It’s hot off the press and just opened in New York and Los Angeles. And it will have a nationwide release beginning July 24.”

The film’s subject, “Buck” Brannaman, was part of the inspiration for Tom Booker, the main character in Nicholas Evans’ novel The Horse Whisperer as well as the subsequent 1988 movie of the same name, starring Robert Redford. The young cowboy and champion roper became a consultant on that movie and also doubled for Redford. “His skill, understanding and his gentle, loving heart have parted the clouds for countless troubled creatures,” said Evans of his inspiration. “Buck is the Zen master of the horse world.”

“Buck” is an intriguing, compassionate and heart-warming film experience that has already led to Brannaman’s appearance on the "David Letterman Show."

The fundamental nature of the story is that it is more about people than horses, and as Buck says during the film, “Your horse is a mirror to your soul. Sometimes you might not like what you see. Sometimes you will.”

Ironically, his own violent childhood was the catalyst for Brannaman’s ultimate perception into what troubles a horse. “Everything you do with a horse is a dance,” he says at one point in the documentary and then goes on to explain his unique role by poignantly suggesting, “Rather than helping people with horse problems, I’m helping horses with people problems.”

Buck’s personal struggle to overcome childhood trauma gave him the insight to see through the animals’ eyes and to feel their childlike wariness and to comprehend their base fears. His journey to adulthood, fraught with mistreatment by his alcoholic and physically abusive father, finally ended when he and his brother were placed into foster care. That back story is crucial to understanding the link between Buck’s past and the present. Meehl’s film follows Buck on his travels around the country, which extend to about 40 weeks a year, where he conducts extensive clinics and shares his expertise with horse owners and trainers. Over the years, he has developed his own techniques of gentle persuasion, and when working with a horse, he moves with a grace and confidence that is enthralling to watch. Seeing him go through his paces, patiently relating to horses and getting them to settle down and feel at ease, is as mesmerizing as it is uplifting.

“Buck” is an extraordinary movie, full of hope in spite of the dark side that was Buck’s boyhood. However, audiences should know that the movie is far from “Seabiscuit” or “Black Stallion.” It isn’t sugary sweet or gratuitously mawkish; it is a human drama first and foremost and helps us to look within ourselves for root causes of our fears, rather than lay blame elsewhere.

Toward the end of the film, Buck, and ultimately the audience, come face to face with a brain-damaged horse that has been badly raised. It is a sad, disturbing element in the story, but Buck clarifies the moment by pronouncing, “The horse didn’t fail us, we failed him.” At that moment Buck could be musing about how he might have turned out if things were different were he not a child reared by a parent who failed to see, failed to listen and failed to empathize. •

“Buck” opens July 1 and runs through July 19 at The Back Space Theatre, 1120 Main Ave. Showtimes are at 4, 6 & 8 p.m., Monday-Sunday with two additional 7 p.m. showings on July 18 & 19. For more information, call 259-7940 or visit www.thebackspacetheatre.org.