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The Horse Boy
Metascore
64 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 16
  3. Negative: 1 out of 16
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  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    83
    Turns into a lyrical and stirring meditation on the mystery of autism.
  2. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    80
    A lovely, amazing, wonderfully provocative film.
  3. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Kimberley Jones
    78
    A staggering document of the lengths parents will go to for the sake of their child.
  4. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    The whole enterprise seems to be Isaacson's project. He narrates the film. Kristin, his wife, seems fully in accord with him, and they're both courageous, but I would have liked more insights from the side of her that teaches psychology.
  5. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Lana Berkowitz
    75
    Provides a powerful look at the complex condition of autism and family dedication.
  6. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Jennie Punter
    75
    It's a film that will both captivate and divide audiences.
  7. New Orleans Times-Picayune
    Reviewed by: Mike Scott
    75
    It is an inspiring, well-assembled portrait of one man's love for his autistic 6-year-old son and the measures he's willing to go to help the boy -- and the family -- cope with his neurological challenges.
  8. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kevin Lally
    70
    For both the parents and the filmmakers, the journey of The Horse Boy was tough and utterly unpredictable, but their act of faith has produced a film that's surprisingly upbeat, evenhanded and imbued with wonder.
  9. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Gary Goldstein
    70
    Tthe film, which also contains brief interviews with several autism experts, proves an extraordinary journey of the heart and spirit, and a stirring testament to parenthood.
  10. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Jeannette Catsoulis
    70
    The film is not a primer on this heartbreaking condition. Instead it recounts a deeply personal, highly subjective and inarguably thought-provoking story of one family's quest for a certain kind of peace.
  11. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    63
    The story is nothing if not uplifting, but it unfolds in a conventional, uninspired documentary style better suited to the small screen, where it soon will reside. Wait.
  12. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Joe Williams
    63
    Raises more questions than it can answer in its travelogue format. It's because the premise is so intriguing and the drama is so compelling that the result is so confounding.
  13. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Keith Uhlich
    60
    The Horse Boy comes off as both an edifying work of advocacy and an invasive home movie.
  14. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    50
    Well-meaning but trying documentary.
  15. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Nick Pinkerton
    40
    The Horse Boy may excuse itself as a "raising awareness" tract on autism, but the exotic travelogue isn't a practicable care option for most cases, and it certainly isn't worthy cinema.
  16. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Cliff Doerksen
    30
    The film reveals its true colors at the end, with a plug for the New Age dude ranch the entrepreneurial couple has since established in Texas.
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User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. MaryH.
    10
    This is a respectful reverent film that opens a small window to view a culture where the most powerful healing for this young boy seems to come from the people most connected to their relationship with nature. It is also a film where one family not only finds the help for their son but leaves the shamans of Mongolia with a confidence to help others who are struggling.… Full Review »
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