Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Thursday 12 april 2018
In Chloe Zhao's 'The Rider,' a rodeo cowboy plays himself

By JAKE COYLE not as good at riding horses
NEW YORK (AP) — Chloe as he is at acting," she says.
Zhao is driving through the "I figured if he can ma-
Arizona desert just north of nipulate the emotions of a
Mexico on a research ex- horse, he can probably do
pedition for a film. that with the audience. I
"I'm keeping an eye on the just had a feeling he might
border," chuckles Zhao, a be good." Zhao came up
Chinese-born, U.S.-based with the story a month be-
filmmaker. "I don't have my fore shooting, shaping it
passport with me." around Jandreau's own
In her young and promis- experiences. For Jandreau,
ing career, Zhao has made not being able to ride was
flirting with boundaries a an existential threat. "It's all
specialty. She was born I love," he says. "It's all I do."
in Beijing and attended He was able to ride on a
boarding school in England horse by himself, he says,
before studying political since he was a year-a-half
science at Massachusetts' old. "A very well-trained
Mount Holyoke College horse," says Jandreau. "I
and filmmaking at New was still in a diaper." It's
York University. been much the same for
Despite a life spent mainly his daughter. Jandreau es-
in cities, she's been drawn timates she's been riding 40
intractably to the Ameri- times already, on 20 differ-
can heartland. After read- ent horses. She's also been
ing about the epidemic of on a lot of planes. With "The
teen suicides on Indian res- Rider," the Jandreaus have
ervations, she packed up siblings, and the new "The an approach that lends an "People are like, 'You must traveled to Paris, New York,
and drove from New York to Rider," a lyrical, elegiac unfiltered authenticity to know Terry, right?'" Zhao Los Angeles, Austin and
the Pine Ridge Indian Res- western about a Lakota ro- an often mythic American says, laughing. "I always elsewhere. Jandreau, who
ervation in South Dakota. deo rider (Brady Jandreau) genre. Earthly and soulful, say, 'Actually no. If you see has started a horse breed-
She stayed, on and off, for whose career is threatened Zhao's films find pain and him, please tell him he's got ing and training program
four years, and made two by a head injury. beauty in humble lives lived a fan.'" since shooting the film, also
films there: 2015's "Songs Each stars Pine Ridge non- close to the land. They take Alongside the 22-year-old would like to keep acting
My Brother Taught Me," an professional actors playing cinema somewhere new, Jandreau, "The Rider" co- — a goal supported by the
affecting study of Lakota versions of themselves — and somewhere real. stars most of the people in rave reviews he's received.
"There are just all these rules his life: his autistic sister Lilly, "I've actually auditioned for
about how films can be his father Tim and many of a couple things," said Jan-
made today. It becomes his friends, including bull dreau. "Looking forward to
like a bubble, an industry rider Lane Scott, who was acting again, hopefully. If
that's quite detached from paralyzed from a 2013 car things go well, I guess."
reality in many ways," Zhao crash. Zhao became in- Zhao is juggling a handful
said in a recent interview by trigued about making a of projects, unsure which
phone from a remote Ari- movie about Jandreau will be next for her. One is
zona road. "Independent while watching him recov- a historic western about a
film has suffered from that." ered from a head injury black sheriff. Another is set
The films — particularly "The when he was trampled dur- 5,000 years in the future in
Rider," which Sony Pictures ing a rodeo competition. China. "So no more real life
Classics will release Friday Despite the risk of re-injury, for a while," she jokes. But
— have made the 35-year- he refused to give up rid- Zhao senses a lot of oppor-
old Zhao a breakout film- ing. They first met when tunity coming her way.
maker and an in-demand Jandreau, a talented and "I feel like the industry re-
director. When she was sensitive horse trainer, ally wants to support fe-
given a $50,000 grant ear- taught Zhao how to ride. male filmmakers. It feels
marked for female film- "I never met anybody from a lot more open than a
makers at the Film Inde- China. I never met a direc- year ago," says Zhao. "But
pendent Spirit Awards in tor. I didn't know anything at the same time I'm also
March, Ava DuVernay said, about movies," said Jan- very careful because the
introducing Zhao: "Her work dreau speaking from his people who jump on the
burns so bright it burns my home in South Dakota. He bandwagon now will jump
eyes." "The Rider" has been lives there with his wife and off when the next social is-
a quiet sensation on the their 8-month-old daugh- sue becomes popular."
festival circuit since winning ter. On a recent afternoon, "There's a huge shift," she
the top prize of Cannes' Di- he spoke on the phone adds. "There's some part of
rectors' Fortnight last year. after checking on a just- it that's going to stick."
It's prompted comparisons born calf. "Chloe wasn't Zhao will likely work with
to early Terrence Malick scared to get on a horse so professional actors in the
films like the (more painter- I shouldn't be scared to say future, but even in larger
ly) frontier drama "Days of a line or whatever the hell," productions, she expects
Heaven." Zhao grants Ma- said Jandreau. Zhao gives to continue to look beyond
lick is a touchstone. Jandreau more credit. "I'm the usual head shots.q