The Mustangs: America’s Wild Horses (2021)
Directed By: Steven Latham, Conrad Stanley
Plot Summary: “The Mustangs: America’s Wild Horses” is a feature documentary that is executive produced by Robert Redford, Patti Scialfa Springsteen and Jessica Springsteen. This film takes audiences on an odyssey throughout America to places few people have seen or even know about. There are more than 80,000 wild horses on our federal lands and more than 50,000 in government corrals. Featuring music by Bruce Springsteen, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson and an original song written by Diane Warren and performed by Blanco Brown, this movie will make you fall in love with America all over again and understand why the protection of our wild horses and our public lands are worth fighting for.
I have to say that I know very little about horses, let alone wild horses. It’s for this reason that I thought I would try and push myself to explore a topic I knew virtually nothing about. Produced by famed actor Robert Redford this documentary takes the audience into the brief history of wild horses and their near extinction to how the horse communities in the US and are dealing with the boom in the population. Directors Steven Latham and Conrad Stanley provide a breezy blueprint of the issues surrounding wild roaming mustangs.
The filmmakers explore the brief history of the ill treatment of these beautiful creatures. But they also highlight the efforts to project them as well as how these animals can be used to help mental health issues as well as education for youth. From heartbroken to hopeful, The Mustangs is a highly interesting film about a topic that probably not a lot of people know or even care about. The filmmakers do a nice job at balancing the sobering moments with what I think is ultimately an optimistic future for wild mustangs. It also highlights different groups that are doing amazing things to help ensure that these horses don’t go completely extinct. It was also interesting to see how over-population is dealt with in a non-lethal way.
If I had to complain, I think that the structure is at times awkward and it could have used a tighter focus. I also think there are aspects that I would have liked touched on more such as the forming of protection laws and the woman behind it, Velma Bronn Johnston AKA, Wild Horse Annie.
Overall, the filmmakers do a good job at tackling a big subject and condensing it down into an easy-to-understand film that runs just under 90 minutes. Despite some issues I still found it a worthwhile documentary even for someone like myself who knew very little on the subject.
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Big film nerd and TCM Obsessed. Author of The Ultimate Guide to Strange Cinema from Schiffer Publishing. Resume includes: AMC’s The Bite, Scream Magazine etc. Love all kinds of movies and television and have interviewed a wide range of actors, writers, producers and directors. I currently am a regular co-host on the podcast The Humanoids from the Deep Dive and have a second book in the works from Bear Manor.
