Buck

Buck is the inspiring story of a real-life horse whisper called Buck Brannaman whose complex and abused past still haunts him today. Originally a Rodeo child star, Buck's life has been far from idyllic and director Cindy Meehl does an amazing job at fleshing out the story of our reluctant hero in this documentary.

Opposed to other horse trainers who use harsh discipline, Buck approaches his horses as equals which allows him to easily train these equines as he travels around the United States. At first Brannaman seems like a formidable person, dressed in his cowboy regalia, however his humble nature soon becomes the dominant force, making him instantly likeable.

With that said, Meehl does a great job at highlighting the story of Buck by linking his traumatic childhood to his passion of training horses. From his childhood, he realised that cruelty is not the key to training as he informs the viewer of his wisdom of life and horses.

Seeing Brannaman in action is such a treat and his mastery of these horses is quite inspiring to watch. There are no instruments of torture here but rather, a careful regime of trust and training that allows him to create these visual spectaculars. Brannaman even allows Meehl into his personal life as we get a small insight into his family whom he spends quite amount of time away from in order to help horses with people problems.

Final Thoughts?

This beautifully presented documentary is presented in widescreen on DVD with sharp images, earthy colours and strong video. Audio is equally as good and there are a handful of special features with commentary to an informative exclusive Australian interview. In the end, Buck is an endearing documentary about one mans life work to help the horses of America.

Recommended!