Voleurs de chevaux (2007)

Directed by: Micha Wald | 85 minutes | drama, adventure, family | Actors: Gregoire Colin, Dupont Francois-Rene, Adrien Jolivet, Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet, Corentin Lobet, Igor Skreblin, Mylene St-Sauveur

Brotherly love in its purest form, that is what Micha Wald shows us in this film. Back to basics of everything. Both in family love and in a primal feeling of revenge and aggression. The storyline, set in nineteenth-century Eastern Europe, is also simple. It is a base that is slowly being built around. This basis and purity is further underlined by the role that nature and music play in ‘Voleurs de chevaux’. Full colours, the rustling of the wind through the trees and the wind instruments of Stephan Micus that meet you, let you perfectly taste the adventure and the fairytale-like yet simple atmosphere. As the film progresses, the character Jakub, Vladimir’s brother, takes shape. As mentioned, it is built around the base of his character. He grows into someone who knows who he is. To do this he needs his brother, to see that he himself is the strongest.

Like Jakub, Elias, oppressed at first by his brother Roman and presented as the weakest, as the story progresses, gets a clear picture of what he does and doesn’t want. The contrasts within the two fraternities are subtly applied and yet very clear. For a moment Wald seems to deviate from this subtlety, when Vladimir collapses in the Cossack camp and almost pretends to be mentally handicapped. Where the acting generally comes across as realistic, it is overacted at this point. The battle between the Cossack brothers and the freebooter brothers Roman and Elias is just as clear and poignant as the battle between the brothers themselves. It is a battle of good against evil in which both sides naturally think they embody the ‘good’. As a family you go through fire for each other. This ideal is strongly emphasized throughout the film. Brothers who support each other in the rough times and therefore stay on their feet. The intimacy that comes with this is beautiful. Crawling into your brother’s bed because you’re cold, a warm hug, it doesn’t happen so quickly these days because of any strange reactions from the outside world. The rawness of the film keeps you tense. The oppression and mutual hatred and envy in the Cossack camp that Jakub and Vladimir experience is hard, but therefore real. The fights and chases are intense and exciting despite the predictability that Jakub will not die. The willpower with which Jakub tries to prove himself in the camp is impressive and endearing at the same time. He is chasing a boyhood dream with all his might, which may only lead to disappointment.

Strolling through the woods and stealing the horses, the task of Roman and Elias, takes you into his adventurousness. Although Elias’ horse whispers don’t seem very believable, you remain captivated by the nature around the characters and the pure form of survival. Because in addition to their ideals, which are sometimes difficult to achieve, that is what all four brothers do: survive, no more than that. And you can’t blame them for that either. You enjoy their wandering aimlessly through nature and visiting some village festivals every now and then, with no other purpose than to live and let each other live. It can be said that ‘Voleurs des chevaux’ in all its purity is a real man’s film about proving yourself, cocky behavior and revenge. Women play a marginal and conservative role. They are there to comfort and nurture. Yet this is not a major objection in the perspective and time frame of this film viewed. Wald wants to show us real brotherly love and he succeeded. Doubt then remains about the title. Why is there so much emphasis on stealing the horses? Does the director want to keep it light, or does he think that the horse thieves are the common thread for this story. The film seems to have much more important themes such as family love, struggle and revenge. An interesting point that does not alter the fact that Wald has got a gripping film on the screen, which transports you to an idealistic, adventurous world.