Thame Cinema 3 All presents The Rider – this Sunday!

ZHAO’s enormously accomplished contemporary western uses non-professional actors playing only partically fictionalised versions of themselves. Brady Jandreau plays Brady Blackburn, a skilled rodeo rider and horseman living in remote South Dakota.

This is a world where there are few choices for young men – it is all about the horses. But Brady sustains a near fatal head injury after a fall from a horse and is forced to reconsider how to live his life if – as his doctors insist – he cannot ride again. The film follows Brady and those close to him: his father, spending too much on beer but without much else to look forward to; his sister who has autism, devoted to her brother; his friends, all in thrall to the lure of the rodeo and the power of those – like Brady – who rise to the top of their game.

Brady spends time visiting Lane, another talented rider in rehab following a brain injury of his own. And of course, there are the horses. Brady turns to training horses, with mesmerising sequences of him breaking in a young stallion in real time, gradually commanding the wild creature with wordless empathy and non-verbal communication. The autobiographical content, coupled with the director’s naturalism and quiet observational style, make the film feel more of a documentary, with the viewer an intimate observer of Brady’s family and community. A quietly poetic, graceful and very beautiful film, and an exquisitely moving portrait of a young man learning to roll with life’s punches. Not to be missed. View the trailer here.

Sunday November 4, 8 pm – Buy tickets online HERE

USA 2018, 103 minutes, PG certificate
Directed by Chloé Zhao, Starring Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau, Cat Clifford, Terri Dawn Pourier, Lane Scott – Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame. Doors open – 7.30pm – Licensed bar.