The Horse Boy

Once again College Girl has sneaked into my stash and found something that she loves. So here is her review of "The Horse Boy" from IndependetLens on PBS. I do wish to thank Mary Lugo for letting us know about this great show. It airs today on PBS. So look it up in your area! Now on with College Girl's thoughts.

As a long-time fan of PBS, I was really looking forward to a sneak
peak of The Horse Boy, an independent film that has already won many
awards and will soon be airing on PBS for everyone to see. The story,
originally written and lived by Rupert Isaacson and his wife, centers
around their autistic son, Rowan. In examining and explaining the
difficulty of living with and raising an autistic child, the film
brings in various experts to explain the disease, their interviews and
opinions interspersed between scenes of Rowan's daily life. From
tantrums to toilet training, very little is left out, including the
day inspiration struck. Rowan got off of his family's Texas property
and onto a neighbor's acreage, making his way to the neighbor's horse.

The uncharacteristic calm and absolute peace his son exhibited while
around the animal prompted Rupert to use equine healing as a way of
helping Rowan. Further research and his own background experiences as
a globe-trotting journalist gave Rupert and his wife Kristin a chance
to experiment with shamanic healing, which also had a very positive
effect on Rowan. In hopes of helping his son, Rupert decided to go to
Mongolia and travel on horseback from shaman to shaman, seeking a cure
for some of the more difficult symptoms presented by Rowan's autism.
With the tag line "how far would you travel to heal someone you love?"
The Horse Boy tells the down to earth, true story of this family as
they delve into unfamiliar territory and face emotional challenges in
search of help.

The story was very well told with beautiful cinematography. It felt,
in some ways, as if I were watching a feature film rather than a
documentary. I now long to read the book, The Horse Boy: A Father's
Quest to Heal His Son. http://www.horseboymovie.com/Book.php
Following the story as told in the film from beginning to end was a
joy. A very unique glimpse into Mongolia was offered, as well as a
look into the mind of an autistic person. All in all, this was
amazing to watch. I recommend it to anyone who wants a warm,
feel-good success story to end their day with.