Bucking the Reality Trend

I'm such a documentary dork that I can be sucked in on pretty much any non-fiction film topic.

Which is how I ended up seeing "Buck," a film about a horse trainer with a kinder, gentler approach to breaking horses than the medieval methods that have been the norm for generations.

Unlike my movie-going companion, I don't long for wide open spaces or cowboy boots or even a horse to ride, but nonetheless, I found myself moved by a story in which I had no stake.

The title character was a champion child roper along with his brother: while working the rodeo circuit, they lived a fearful family life being physically abused by the alcoholic father who managed their career.

Eventually a coach saw the welts and had the boys removed and placed with a caring family, but it was clear that Buck's harsh upbringing was the basis for his gentleness in training animals.

For me, the attraction of a documentary is seeing reality unfold and hearing from those who lived it.

In "Buck," that reality became a surprisingly cruel thing to watch when a feral horse with brain damage attacked a handler in the ring.

Seeing blood immediately squirt onto his white hat brought home the risks of trying to tame a wild thing ("You need stitches. I can see the bone").

I don't know who was more surprised at the attack, the group in the film gathered around the ring or the audience today watching the film.

Buck was the inspiration for "The Horse Whisperer" and came across as a well-spoken self-assured horse lover who excels at what he does.

His spiel in the ring during the four-day training sessions he conducts across the country was full of truths, observations and lessons for those with a horse to train.

And he made them all with the aid of what he called "my Madonna microphone."

He was full of insightful but humorous observations like, "A lot of the time I'm not helping people with horse problems. I'm helping horses with people problems."

The good-sized crowd at the Westhampton laughed loudly at that and other amusing commentary made in the course of breaking horses.

Walking out, my companion raved about the locations, the ranches and mountains, asking if seeing scenes of places like Montana and Wyoming didn't make me want to live there.

Not even for a second, I said.

But I'm more than happy to watch a documentary about a kind of life I'll never live.

That's how I got certified as a documentary dork in the first place.