Feb. 03, 2010 - Issue #746: Spine

The Horse Boy

Six-year-old Rowan Isaacson is the autistic son of two very loving parents whose lives have, since his diagnosis, been devoted to finding a lasting treatment for his devastating disorder. Like in many cases of autism, Rowan has shown a resistance to all kinds of Western therapies and medications. But his gentle and immediate relationship with animals inspires his father Rupert to take his son on a Mongolian trek on horseback to seek the help of curing shamans.

The film begins by addressing and portraying the challenges of raising an autistic child, as clips of Rowan throwing wild tantrums are shown as his father Rupert narrates a troubled testimonial. Experts and doctors detail the current awareness of autism, as the types of diagnosis continue to expand and get more complicated. Attention quickly shifts to a daring-yet-simple solution as Rowan shows a fascinating rapport with a farm horse, which inspires the family to take the journey. It becomes apparent that their respect and pursuit of mystical treatments is a result of the failure of every conventional one to help, and in turn creates an intriguing narrative with spiritual hope.

As The Horse Boy's central voice, Rupert respects both the sincerity of the shaman's practices and the audience's skepticism. Despite hinting at the success of the experiment, the film expresses a locatable anxiety that doesn't expect us to buy into anything right away.

The sheer production around the scenario might bait skeptics to question how experimental the whole process may be, that the audience is being shouldered into anticipating specific results. The camerawork and editing demonstrate a lyrical patience that teeters into high drama, most of the time accompanied by a heavily emotive musical score of sentimental violins with a tinge of Eastern-type percussion. The increasing awareness of dramatic techniques in reality television and pop documentaries surfaces rather uncomfortably during the parts with the greatest amount of feeling, especially as the film climaxes into Rowan returning home and demonstrating a supposed all-around improvement.

Maybe the sentiment gets carried away, but for some, especially those having witnessed and been closely affected by individuals with autism, should prove to be touching and familiar. The lengthy and exhausting trip is by no means tightened together as it might be on a segment of Oprah, where uplifting stories culminate in hardcore tragedy or easily read heroism. It's tough to resolve, even for the parents as they return home and Rowan is suddenly a breeze to toilet train. A slight stutter in their following interviews suggest that they hope the effects of the treatment will indeed last. Such uncertainty feels as anxious as if there had been no resolve, and even as they open their home to provide a service to other parents and their children, there is still a quiet acknowledgement that are no easy answers.


The Horse Boy
Fri, Feb 5, Sun, Feb 7 (9 pm)
Sat, Feb 6, Mon, Feb 8 (7 pm)
Directed by Michael O. Scott
Metro Cinema (9828 - 101A Ave)

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