The Mustang

"Manages to be inspirational without going Disney."

"A stringent tale of a struggle for redemption."

"It is handsomely shot, affectingly acted, and narratively predictable."

"Each time you think you have this movie pegged, it'll knock you for a loop."

"You can't help but be swept up by the sincerity here..."

"It's Schoenaerts, one of this generation's finest actors, who makes The Mustang a moving look at human potential for redemption and rehabilitation."

"Within no more than a minute of screen time, we know that director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre has authority and vision, and that we are watching a good movie."

"An impressive feature directorial debut."

"The Mustang delivers one narrative surprise after the next, not with dramatic twists and turns, but with simple human growth and understanding."

"Single-minded and direct in its execution, the film is a hard look at the extremes of masculine guilt and healing."

"Whatever language he works in, Schoenaerts is a singular talent who can convincingly convey danger and menace as naturally as he breathes."

"It's all well-trod territory. And yet... The Mustang breathes new life into most of those conventions, thanks in no small part to Schoenaerts and his remarkable work."

"A powerful and emotional journey framed by gorgeous sun-soaked shots of the stark Nevada landscape."

"It shouldn't work - none of it - not the metaphor, not the wild horse, not what it all means for the wild man at the centre. It does."

"You can probably guess every beat of The Mustang ahead of time, but what does that matter? The picture, shot by Ruben Impens, is gorgeous to look at."

"This debut feature by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre opens strong, grows even stronger and, avoiding almost every trap, fulfills its abundant promise."

"(A) stirring and poetic prison drama about a man and his horse."

"It builds instead of races, knowing that it's the accumulation of minor character beats in a film like this one that really matter."

""The Mustang" has an arc you can trace, but you will not, I promise you, predict the final shot, and it's a beauty - a tearjerker as delicate as they come."

"De Clermont-Tonnerre shows admirable restraint, knowing that, in her carefully constructed frames, it can be enough just to get Roman's newly compassionate eyes into a close-up with the expressionless eye of a horse."

"'The Mustang' delivers one narrative surprise after the next, not with dramatic twists and turns, but with simple human growth and understanding."