Pressing Dreams

I had the opportunity to catch Chloe Zhao's movie The Rider yesterday. I have to say that it's by far the most touching and moving film I have seen in a long while. What amazes me about this movie is its portrayal of a rodeo rider who is trying to rise above his injuries from a previous mis-happen stint, only to find himself bogged down by the difficulties of his recovering body. A poignant and symbolic example is a hand that clenches so tightly as well as the brain's inability to keep up with the neurological signals travelling from the hand, resulting in a hand that is hard to unclench. To me, this part of the movie seemed to represent an inability to let go of dreams that outlive the body's ability to fulfill those dreams. Even when Brady, the protagonist, is continually reminded by strangers and acquaintances not to "give up on his dreams" of continuing to be a rodeo rider, it's his body that is ultimately unable to reach those dreams. The soul has its purpose, but the body has its own karma.
  The tension between the soul's purpose and the embodiment of that purpose runs throughout the movie, in parallel with the theme of interconnection which one especially sees in how Brady relates to the horses that he rides with and trains. Brady not only inhabits his body but also a world of others who are vying for his attention and space: a sister, for example, who has developmental challenges, a father who alternates between high expectations and dead-pan realism; friends who even try to wake Brady from his "recovery" sleep to go joyriding in the desert; and the demands of a community where he needs to get by somehow. Brady inhabits a world where his dreams don't go away (as well as his fame as a rodeo rider) but survival of the body must take precedence. The compromise between dream and its imperfect embodiment is perhaps best represented in Brady's good friend, who is paralyzed due to a previous accident in he rodeo. Brady does his best to help his friend relive the rodeo days, and it's only in the end that the audience can see that this relationship with his friend is the true embodiment of his hopes and dreams. Dreams are not about final destinations, but are meant to be shared with others, even in the most compromised circumstances. Watching this film, I become much more interested in the simple love and trust that the characters (both human and animal) show for each other, and how they work together to support their hopes and purpose in life. It seems that these grandiose visions of fame and fortune are just a cover for the work we really need to do for each other in this world.