The Wild Horse Redemption (2007)

Directed by: John Zartisky | 91 minutes | documentary

After a documentary about the lives of various students in ‘College Days, College Nights’, filmmaker John Zaritsky takes a different path with ‘The Wild Horse Redemption’. In this we follow prisoners who sign up for a horse whispering course. So far it sounds pretty innocent. But these are no ordinary tame horses, they are wild mustangs. These animals live free in the Southwest of America and are difficult to tame.

Zaritsky has chosen an interesting subject to make a documentary about, because ‘The Wild Horse Redemption’ never gets boring. The parallel between the untamed character of the prisoners and the untamed animal is beautifully portrayed. We follow about five prisoners, each of whom has a lot on their plate: from theft, alcohol abuse, assault to drug trafficking. Nowhere does Zaritsky fall into too melodramatic a tone, he introduces each person in a sympathetic way, without judgment. The inmates introduce themselves through a voice-over with images showing them on their way to the ranch where the wild mustangs are tamed and trained. As a viewer you will find out why the horse whispering program was set up. The bottom line is that both humans and animals have to tame each other.

Many beautiful quotes appear in ‘The Wild Horse Redemption’, a clear example is the quote from inmate Tim Schoenleber, who is incarcerated for the third time for burglary: “I thought I could ride a horse…until I got to know mustangs.” Another inmate is Jon Peterson who takes care of mustang Samson. It’s amusing to see how stubborn they both are. This results in entertaining and sometimes scary moments. Scared to see Jon standing in the corral when Samson runs madly around him and seems unstoppable. Young Brandon Clay is also awestruck by not giving up despite his fear of horses. Zaritsky makes extensive use of instrumental music to support the images in which no word is spoken. In addition, he also plays country songs, which fits perfectly in the atmosphere that ‘The Wild Horse Redemption’ conveys; that of the pristine, indomitable nature of the Rocky Mountains, but also in the character of both the horse and prisoner.

Moments of rest are especially the beautiful images in which you see groups of mustangs galloping in the snowy landscapes of Colorado. You get awe of these four-legged friends, they exude so much bravado and spunk. ‘The Wild Horse Redemption’ shows an impressive course of the three months in which the prisoners each try to deal with their problems in their own way by taming a mustang. You get to know them each fairly well, which makes you feel involved and curious about their further future. On paper the synopsis of ‘The Wild Horse Redemption’ may sound sweet, but the effect is anything but. Zartisky shows a pure and sympathetic look at the Colorado prison project. The ninety minutes of ‘The Wild Horse Redemption’ fly by quickly. Lovers of human interest and beautiful nature images can indulge themselves with Zartisky’s documentary.