Boys in the United Kingdom must grow up intoxicated on bedtime stories of King Arthur and charging knights and leaping horses. How many movies can we think of where the little boy inside a director decides to make all those dreams literal, with a horse actually crashing through a bedroom?
Terry Gilliam did it for “Time Bandits,” as we wrote about some months ago in this space. Writer Jim Sheridan and director Mike Newell took up the theme again in 1993 with the emotional Irish-cowboy movie “Into the West.” A majestic white horse takes up residence in a nasty housing project, much to the delight of his ragamuffin human tenders, Tito and Ossie.
Before the horse came along, the boys were neglected and thumped around the head a bit by their grieving father (Gabriel Byrne), still mourning the loss of their mother. The family used to be gypsies, or “travellers” in the Commonwealth, and Dad used to be the “king” of the local band. Now he drinks too much and barely keeps the boys in food.
The horse is the boys’ escape and possible redemption. They flee on horseback when evil police and gamblers pursue the magnificent steed. They head into the west, toward the ocean and tangles of family mythology.
No one writes of the sadness of the outcast like Sheridan, who is better known for incomparable movies like “My Left Foot” and “In America.” Tito and Ossie long for adventure, but what they long for even more is a reconciliation with their father and their larger gypsy family. In Sheridan’s world, no one can be truly happy until they find a place they belong.
“Into the West” is a great family night selection because it never descends into vulgarity that would draw a PG-13 or R rating. Rent it, and introduce yourself to Sheridan’s filmmaking.
Michael Booth: 303-954-1686 or mbooth@denverpost.com. Booth’s “The Denver Post Guide to the Best Family Films” is now available in stores and online.
