The Horse Whisperer (1998)

Director:

Robert Redford

Writers (WGA):

Nick Evans (novel)
Eric Roth (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 May 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

The mother of a severely traumatized daughter enlists the aid of a unique horse trainer to help the girl's equally injured horse.

Plot Keywords:

Dysfunctional Family | Rural | Reflection | Amputation | Sentimental

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Robert Redford	...	Tom Booker
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Annie MacLean
Sam Neill	...	Robert MacLean
Dianne Wiest	...	Diane Booker
Scarlett Johansson	...	Grace MacLean
Chris Cooper	...	Frank Booker
Cherry Jones	...	Liz Hammond
Ty Hillman	...	Joe Booker
Kate Bosworth	...	Judith (as Catherine Bosworth)
Austin Schwarz	...	Twin #1
Dustin Schwarz	...	Twin #2
Jeanette Nolan	...	Ellen Booker
Steve Frye	...	Hank
Don Edwards	...	Smokey
Jessalyn Gilsig	...	Lucy, Annie's Assistant

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for a disturbing accident scene.

Runtime:

170 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:10 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #36000) | South Korea:12 | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12/9 | France:U | Germany:6 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Baker, California, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

Kate Bosworth's first film. She was chosen as they required an experienced rider for the role of Judith.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Anne and Tom first ride the horses together, Anne's hat varies from being on her head (with the obvious stunt double) to not on her head when they showed the closeups of her face. At the speed of the gallop, it is unlikely to be explained by her constantly putting it back on and in the final still of that scene, her hat is on again, and the hat strap is clearly in place to prevent the hat from falling back.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Judith: [waves] Hello!
Grace: [waves] Hello!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The Christmas Show (#1.11)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

A Soft Place to Fall

The Horse Whisperer is an exquisite work........a gift

Last night I was blessed with an experience that is the gift of cinema - a very very beautiful film that celebrates the glory of the human soul in a way that drove me to tears of joy and gratitude at having had the privilege of being a part of it.

The Horse Whisperer is an exquisite work, with multiple levels of relevance that are marvelously integrated into a seamless story. On one level, it is a celebration of man's great capacity for and heritage of attunement to nature and the limitless beauty that he chooses to return to, having tired of the unsatisfying world that he had created in its place on his path of discovery. It is also a testimony to the process of healing, of how it is an opportunity to delve deep into the recesses of the traumatised soul, and how it can only be undertaken with a simultaneous caring for everyone involved in the circle of influence. It is also an examination of relationships, of the relationship between the parent and the child, between man and woman, between human and animal, and ultimately between body and soul. Ultimately the film is a triumph of spirit, a paean to a long forgotten wholeness and harmony that is celebrated in the film as though it just were, and had never ceased to be, without the wrangling and flailing that one has come to expect of a piece of art that attempts to recapture the glory of the soul.

One of the very many great moments of the film are where the mother tries to understand the Horse Whisperer's failed relationship with his love in the past, as a love that was 'wrong' because they were not 'right' for each other. He says 'I loved her not because it was right, I just loved her'. This clear differentiation between love on the one hand and the rightness of the relationship on the other elevates both to a respectability that is incomprehensible when love is understood only as a manifestation of the rightness of a relationship. This kind of 'simple wisdom', so to speak, is the fabric of the entire film, it is the tongue in which the story is told. In fact much of the film eschews dialogue completely in favour of the vast visuals of American ranch-land, always with humans embedded as part of the landscape in a harmony that seems so obvious as to be almost unremarkable. Among the most poignant of these are the moments between Tom, the Horse Whisperer and Pilgrim, the horse, moments where they communicate wordlessly, often soundlessly, slowly going through the stages of distrust, caution, diffidence, examination, trust and sharing that are necessary on the path of friendship, here shown between man and animal.

The story of the Horse Whisperer is simple enough and I shall neither describe it, nor analyse the components of the film. Doing this would reduce its stature to that of a product.

The Horse Whisperer is a gift, accept it.