DVD Review: Of Horses And Men

I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a film quite like Of Horses And Men before. Its subject, its tone, its style and its characters all feel singular to this movie. And that is remarkable. Clearly the film is a work of passion. At the end, there is this message: “No horses were hurt in the making of this film. The entire cast and crew are horse owners and horse lovers.” That message goes a long way in explaining how they got some of the tremendous footage that this film contains. But the extraordinary footage is only part of what makes this film a delight.

The movie begins with extreme close-up shots of various parts of a horse, until a shot of the animal’s eye reveals a man standing there. He is attempting to put a bridle on the horse, which he eventually manages to do. Though spread out, the community is close in spirit, and several people with binoculars wait for a glimpse of him riding his new horse. As the man proudly rides the horse, there are some shots of his face, and some of the horse’s face, as if each has his or her own thoughts, but maybe have the same goals. As he rides atop the mare, a stallion breaks free from a nearby pen and mounts the mare. The sun’s reflection on the binoculars in the distance alerts the man that everyone is witnessing his strange ménage à trois.  The man’s demeanor changes quite a bit after that, and the film takes a surprising turn.

What’s interesting is that after that, the film gives us a close-up of the eye of another horse, this time with a passing vehicle reflected in it. The vehicle’s driver spots a boat in the distance, and races back to a pen, from which he takes a horse and rides it into the water all the way to the boat. He makes it to the boat, only to purchase some rather potent alcohol, which then kills him. There is a wonderfully odd humor to this film, and at his funeral he is described by the minister as a man “who let nothing come between him and his goals.” It is a small, tight community, and the first man attends the funeral. So does his girlfriend, whose stallion was the one to violate his mare, and the two now seem estranged and do not speak to each other.

Each section of the film begins with a reflection in a horse’s eye, as if the action is from the perspective of the horses, which creates an interesting dynamic, as it is not just about the relationships between characters, but the relationships between the characters and the horses. The horses are a big part of the identity of these people and their community. The characters are all interconnected, so the film never feels like an anthology of stories. In addition to the excellent footage of the horses, there are gorgeous wide shots of the landscape, and some intense footage that brings us close to the human characters. For example, when one man cuts a barbed wire fence, the wire snaps and hits him in the face, blinding him. This movie also contains one of the oddest and most honest sex scenes I’ve ever seen in a film (and yes, binoculars come into play again). Okay, I suppose the movie actually has two of the oddest sex scenes I’ve seen, as we cannot forget that early threesome scene. There is also a scene where one of the characters acts like Han Solo on Hoth, using a horse to stay warm.

Of Horses And Men was directed by Benedikt Erlingsson, and was released on DVD on December 5, 2017 through Music Box Films. The film is presented in its original Icelandic, with English subtitles. The DVD contains the film’s trailer.