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90In some sense it was beauty that saved Mr. Brannaman, that of his conscience and that of horses, which, having been tied to humans long ago, became companions, workers and for some, as this lovely movie shows, saviors.
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88Seeing Brannaman work in the warm, sun-dappled documentary Buck makes it clear why he was such a perfect fit for Redford's film: Few people can handle horses the way Brannaman does.
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100Buck is a movie to be revisited again and again, like passages from a satisfying self-help book. Riding experience isn't necessary to realize how extraordinary this man and his calling are.
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63Brannaman is a fascinating character, but Buck is so tightly focused that only avid horse lovers will find it appealing.
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88Beautifully but simply wrought by director Cindy Meehl, this deft documentary is a poignant reappraisal of what it means to be human.
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75The documentary shows Buck over the course of a year, as he travels and teaches. Along the way, Robert Redford is interviewed about Buck's contribution to "The Horse Whisperer" (1998). Redford likes him, so he can't be a phony.
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83The character who emerges in the breezy, somewhat meandering Buck is plain-spoken, heartfelt, compassionate, witty, and wise. His horse-training technique is based on understanding the psychology of animals and on attuning his human and equine clients with one another.
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Jun 23, 201188You don't have to be a horse nut to fall for Buck, one of those rare documentaries whose subject is so inherently fascinating that a fictional character could hardly compete.
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63The man's mythology precedes him, and it's the movie's failing that we don't understand how or whether he uses that mythology because he knows it's good business.
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90A haunting, beautifully told tale about a genuine American original.
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70Possibly the touchy-feeliest cowboy movie ever made.
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50Meehl's documentary features plenty of interviews with cowboys and ranch hands who've had their lives – and their horses' lives – changed by Brannaman, but it lacks the literary or cinematic magic of either version of "The Horse Whisperer."
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75What I was left with was the goodness of Buck Brannaman as a man. He was dealt a hand that might have destroyed him. He overcame his start and is now a wise and influential role model. He does unto horses as he wishes his father had done onto him.
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91The result is a portrait that expertly mirrors its subject: Buck is shaped with the same economy, restraint, and unfussiness as the man, to unexpectedly inspiring effect.
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90Meehl, in her directing debut, is attuned to the rhythms of Buck, who's attuned to the horses.
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80Warmly engaging Buck is a portrait of Buck Brannaman, a trainer whose remarkable way with equines provided a model for "The Horse Whisperer" in both novel and movie forms.
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80Buck has the air of a beautiful little mystery; even knowing the uplifting outcome, you wonder at the strength that brought him to this place.
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91The riders who appear in Buck seem almost uniformly exalted by their contact with Brannaman and his methods.
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50Buck is best left to TV, where it will land soon. It's "The Horse Whisperer" that should be seen on the big screen.
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80The film is deeply moving yet never maudlin in telling this hard-knocks-but-hope-infused story.
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80Soft-spoken and stoical, Brannaman is a firm but sensitive presence in front of the camera and facing down a spooked horse.
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100It keeps you fascinated, even enthralled; elicits astonishment, even wonderment, and makes you grateful for the chance to meet someone remarkable.
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60Even if we can't live his cowboy life, Buck Brannaman's world is well worth visiting.
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75Perhaps Brannaman's art is too subtle and instinctive to be captured on camera, but it's a shame Meehl doesn't do a better job of capturing exactly what makes him, by all accounts, a miraculously successful trainer.
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Jun 14, 201170Meehl finds the real story in Brannaman's fractured past as a child celebrity trick-roper who, along with his older brother, Smokie, was systematically abused by his alcoholic father.
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80This film's effectively wrought communion between once-spooked man and animal is more than enough for any entertainment. It rides easily into your heart.
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83Buck Brannaman, the subject of Cindy Meehl's engaging documentary profile Buck, has a warm presence and knows how to tame horses better than anyone else.
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38Life lessons abound in Buck, most of them tied to endlessly reiterated comparisons between man and horse.
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Jun 12, 201170A quietly captivating portrait of an unlikely character, Buck is as modest as its subject and wins viewers over just as easily.
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63Taken on its own merits, this profile of "Buck" Brannaman is a pleasant and touching but somewhat superficial insight to the man and his methods.
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70What makes this movie truly special is that the source of Buck's uncanny gift is actually an acute childhood sorrow.