The Rider

Yesterday at Arclight Theatres in La Jolla I saw, " The Rider",  an independent film made by a new Chinese director. This is a wonderful movie with brilliant cinematography that captures the stunning vistas of the Dakota plains.

A young man suffers a brain injury while participating in his passion, the rodeo. There is tremendous pressure internally and externally for him to continue riding. He has been a horse person since childhood. Rodeo riding is his identity.

The film is a story within a story since the main actors are non-professional people from the same family. The lead actor did suffer an injury riding, and to some degree, the movie parallels his story.

"The Rider" is a story of adaptation and coping with adversity. Though it takes place in a small subculture in the American West, it has universal appeal. It should be seen by all.