Touching Wild Horses (2002)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Eleanor Lindo

Writer:

Murray McRae (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

After a car accident that claimed his father and sister's lives and left his mother in a coma, a young man is sent to live with his reclusive aunt (Jane Seymour) on Sable Island, a world-renowned wild horse preserve.

Plot Keywords:

Horse | Island | Loner | Foal | 13 Year Old

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Mark Rendall	...	Mark Benton
Jane Seymour	...	Fiona Kelsey
Charles Martin Smith	...	Charles Thurston
Gloria Slade
James McGowan	...	John Benton
Danielle Bouffard	...	Megan Benton
Andrew Tarbet	...	Adult Mark
Vickie Papavs
Jef Mallory
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jay Hickman	...	Adult Mark (voice)

Also Known As:

Animal Tales: Touching Wild Horses (International: English title) (promotional title)
Les chevaux de la tourmente (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements, some scary images and brief mild language.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

Canada | UK | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Sandbanks Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Animal Tales Productions Inc.

Trivia:

Jane Seymour actually turned the script down several times before accepting the role.

A wonderful film that will truly touch your heart.

I had the opportunity to see this film with some friends at the Tribeka film festival. I had seen this movie once before in FRENCH through a friend who had sent me the video when it aired on French TV. There was simply no comparison though to seeing it on the big screen. It truly is a beautiful film and one Jane Seymour can be very proud of. I knew of course that Jane had been 'aged' a bit for most of the film to fit the part but I found I was so engrossed in the characters that it didn't bother me. Actually there are several scenes where we all agreed she looked absolutely beautiful and very much like Michaela Quinn. The director used these scenes skillfully to illustrate how Fiona's (Jane's) dimeanor slowly changes as she begins to allow Mark into her heart.

The film is about a woman who has led a hermetic existence for 20 years on Sable Island as a result of a very painful incident in her past. Mark is her twelve year old nephew who when a car accident claims the life of his dad and sister and leaves his mother in a coma, is sent to live with his aunt Fiona. As Fiona, Jane in the beginning is nearly unrecognizable, although anyone who has seen Matters of the Heart will have some idea- think of the beginning of the film. Her severity is essential though to the plot as it centers around her relationship with Mark and how the bond that slowly forms between them changes both their lives. The title of the film stems from the fact that with the exception of Fiona, the ranger, and now Mark, there are no other inhabitants on the island but a herd of wild horses. Mark and Fiona's eventual involvement with an orphaned wild pony, serves as a catalyst to unlock the secret pain in both of them and to allow a very special bond to form between them. The cinematography is a work of art in this film and the characters are very 'real', for lack of a better word. It's a simple film but one of real quality and one which I encourage anyone who has an opportunity to see to do so.