Cecil says: We always try to get along to the GFT on visits to Glasgow and we had a free afternoon so chose this documentary about a 1,000km horserace in Mongolia as the best thing on the programme when we were free. Yes, it’s not an obvious choice and we probably wouldn’t have gone if we had lots of other options for good films at that time. But I’m glad we did.
So, the ‘horse race’ is basically an adventure holiday with
a difference, only you need to be able to ride a (wild) horse to take part. It
lasts about nine days, and every day each rider gets allotted a new horse to
take them on the next leg through the wilds and the heat of Mongolia.
It’s beautifully filmed, though the focus is less on the
Mongolian landscape and more on the characters who take part and how the
challenge is approached differently by each rider’s different personality.
We have the driven lone Texan girl whose only goal is to
win; there are the two Irish jump jockeys who want to win but also rather enjoy
teaming up with a couple of the women riders; there’s the black South African
horse whisperer, who is surely the favourite among all the film viewers for his
magical patience with the more and more difficult rides he is given; and there
are the cameo roles by the unfortunate Norwegian girl, the Dutch Alexander
Technique teacher and various others who figured less prominently.
There’s heatstroke, broken bones, wolf attacks to battle
against; and the nightly hospitality from local Mongolian families who house
the riders at the end of each day.
It’s just a captivating insight into a kind of quirky
adventure holiday (and surely good for business for the team who run the race
each year), but also strangely compelling viewing. Funnily enough, I didn’t
really care who won, and that I think is the point also; this is really an
event where it’s the taking part that counts. Just pity the poor guy who broke
his collar bone about 100m into the race on the first day…
***
Bea says: My sister joined us for this excursion to the GFT and, as we
often do, we saw whatever was on at the time that suited us, rather than
choosing a film and then going at that time.
There was a choice between this and one other, and we plumped for this,
following lunch at the Willow Tea Rooms.
My sister was sceptical, but in fact we all
really enjoyed it. It is
documentary-style, and very absorbing.
Very quickly we were caught up in the logistical issues of organising
such a race, the motivations of those taking part – from seasoned horsemen and
women to people who just wanted to do something completely different to their
usual daily grind – and the local Mongolians who hosted participants and
provided the (often) challenging horses.
Following the key participants to the finish line (or not, in some
cases) was great.
I was pleased to see the attention paid to horse welfare –
which actually had quite an impact on finishing time – and the growth of
collegiate bonding between the participants, as they helped each other through
the challenges the terrain and conditions presented. These were important details for me, which
made the documentary much more human and intimate, making me really care about
what happened to the people involved.
Lots of great views and scenes of traditional tents as well
– if you love travel, this one is definitely recommended!
***1/2
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