The Rider
Chloé Zhao
© Les Films du Losange
After a tragic accident, up-and-coming rodeo star Brady finds out that he will no longer be able to take part in competitions. Brady now needs to find a new purpose to his life. In his efforts to take his fate back into his own hands, he goes in search of a new identity.
With : Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau
Screenplay : Chloé Zhao
Image : Joshua James Richards
Editing : Alex O'Flinn
Music : Nathan Halpern
Screenplay : Chloé Zhao
Image : Joshua James Richards
Editing : Alex O'Flinn
Music : Nathan Halpern
Production : Caviar, Highwayman Films
Distribution: Les Films du Losange
Distribution: Les Films du Losange
While shooting her first film, Songs My Brother Taught Me, Chloé Zhao made the acquaintance of Brady Jandreau. Despite his pale skin, Brady was born and grew up in the Lakota Reservation and is Sioux Lakota Oglala and a genuine cowboy. Zhao was inspired by his story and wove a hybrid story around his search to give a meaning back to his life following his accident. She chose his family and friends to embody the fictional version of their own characters. “Zhao's simple and gentle style of directing finds its meaning in this dusky and peaceful territory: made up of impressionistic flashes, similar to the way a documentary is made, and nourished by an intimacy which is never intrusive, she films Brady and his family and friends as integral parts of a singly harmony, witnesses of a return to the state of nature where all border lines (which are so crucial in the definition of the western and the history of America) are blurred”. (Thomas Choury; Critikat)