HORSES

Q&A with director Liz Mermin

An unusual, beautifully detailed documentary following a year in the lives of three charismatic Irish racehorses.  Ireland’s horse-racing culture has produced some of the finest athletes in the world, and HORSES draws us into the lives of three of them over the course of a difficult racing year. The equine protagonists prove less reticent than one might imagine, and as we watch them train, rest, play, and race, distinct characters undeniably emerge. The human supporting actors are colorful and engaging, from their good-looking and foul-mouthed trainer to an elderly groom who obviously prefers horses to people, but overall the film is about what its like to be a racehorse. Without ever straying into Disney territory, and eschewing sentimentality, HORSES raises basic questions about what constitutes character and who can have it.

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