Buck [Review by Haus]

Buck is a trim, pleasant little documentary about Buck Brannaman, a horse trainer and one-time child trick-roper who traverses the American West (and East) holding four-day clinics on horsemanship.

Parsi’s not a horse person, and neither am I — although I did endure my standard allotment of riding lessons as a child, with my most notable experience being sliding down the neck of a pony that had stopped to eat some grass. Twice. I also rode English saddle, not Western. Buck Brannaman I am not.

Anyway, this review isn’t about that, and to enjoy this film you needn’t have an obsession with or even a particular affinity for horses. The material is engaging, Buck is a sensitive and shy cowboy, and it’s fun to watch.

What I take from this film is worth mentioning just for its strangeness: riding is like Aikido. I’ve done just enough of both to realize I’m very, very far from proficient in either. But I’ve now heard experts at both describe their actions, and I’ve seen them perform. Obvious similarities exist.

Beginning students of Aikido focus very much on replicating individual movements, and often try to force the desired throw with physical power. Masters — like Buck, here — almost transcend these physical limitations. They appear to use very little force, just enough to provoke a result, and move in harmony with their uke (or partner on the receiving end). Scenes of Buck directing a horse without so much as a hand on the reins reminded me of old videos of O Sensei — a near-transcendent unity of energies. Buck thinks, the horse responds. (Put differently, it’s kind of like the horse-creatures in Avatar, except without plug-in braids.)

That this sort of thing is possible should come as no surprise to anyone who’s seen, say, the Mythbusters shake a massive bridge with a carefully tuned resonant inputs. (The bridge quivers imperceptibly at first, then this builds in a crescendo of vibration noticeable 100 feet away.) Brute force is not the only way. Finesse and harmony, gentle redirection, can work as well. The issue is that they require mastery — but in action, they’re beautiful, almost magical, to watch.

So watch this movie. As a documentary, the film stays tight on its gentle protagonist. Buck’s back-story and tortured past is interesting (though only sketched out) and it’s a nice slice of Americana, but — aside from occasionally triggering some vague musings about human domination of animals — the true value is watching a master at work.

HAUS VERDICT: Mastery is magical.

See what the other half thinks: Parsi’s view.