The “The Special Children’s Film” funding initiative, launched in 2013, continues to bring remarkable works to the cinema. Unlike “The School of Magical Animals” or the films about Bibi Blocksberg, the funded projects are based neither on established brands nor on literary models. In addition, they are usually closely linked to the reality of life of their target audience. For example, “At Eye Level”, “Being a Winner” and “The Prank” were created – and originality is also the key in the current film with the initiative’s emblem!
However, this is not limited to the story alone. The real sport that screenwriter Gerlind Becker and director Sonja Maria Kröner (“Sommerhäuser”) put at the center of their family film is also pretty special: we’re talking about hobby horsing! As with real equestrian sports, there are disciplines such as course jumping and dressage. However, you don’t ride on a horse made of flesh and blood, but with a hobby horse between your legs. The title “Horse on a stick – a hobby horsing adventure” sums this up in an original way. And that is by no means the only positive thing that can be said about the lively, exhilarating and authentically played teen comedy.
Even after an embarrassing video, Sarah (Manon Debaille) continues to stand by her new hobby!
The “besties” Sarah (Manon Debaille) and Dilek (Chiara Kitsopoulou), both 13, live in the Neuperlach high-rise housing estate in Munich. They post selfie videos together on their own channel, but have so far been dissatisfied with the response. “We should do something we’re really good at,” says Sarah. “We can’t do anything,” replies Dilek. But is that actually true? When Sarah discovered hobby horsing on the Internet, she was immediately hooked. She makes a horse’s head, mounts it on a stick and persuades the skeptical Dilek to do the same.
Unfortunately, the girls are filmed by a few boys during their first exercises. The video promptly makes the rounds at school, the riders become the target of ridicule – and fall out. While Dilek, who had thought the whole company was “social suicide” anyway, joins the cool girls of the “New Pearls” dance troupe, Sarah is not deterred by the malice. She finds a new friend in Beatrice (Aurelia Ott), a tournament rider of the same age. Both travel to Finland for the hobby horsing championship without permission. Sarah as a competitor, Beatrice as her trainer and manager…
Bizarre? Already. But also surprisingly demanding
Admittedly, the coolness factor of Hobby Horsing doesn’t necessarily reach lofty heights (so far). Instead, at least at first, it seems unusual and therefore bizarre; So situational comedy is ensured. Nevertheless, the director and her screenwriter take the fringe sport pleasantly seriously, especially since upon closer inspection it turns out to be surprisingly demanding. Sarah first has to learn to behave like a dignified rider above the waistline, while her legs also take on the horse part. It’s not so easy to jump over an obstacle course with sports equipment that is actually reminiscent of a show jumping tournament with real horses.
But the film’s primary aim is not to advertise the hobby of horsing, but rather to entertain. And he does this completely at ease with a humor that is not at all hateful, which only increases when the action reaches Finland. There are also fresh dialogues and funny sayings that never seem artificial, which show that the two filmmakers have an ear for authentic youth language. The tension here doesn’t just arise from the question of how Sarah will fare at the championship in Finland.
What is “cool” is in the eye of the beholder!
At its core it’s about the friendship between Sarah and Dilek. The fact that the break does not have to be final is shown again and again by sequences that suggest that the two still feel connected despite everything. Sarah simply stands by what she does. That in turn gives Dilek something to think about. Maybe appearing particularly “cool” isn’t the most important thing after all. The two excellent leading actresses lead a cast that acts quite realistically. Almost all of them embody likeable and approachable characters. Beatrice, daughter of a wealthy family, could be conceited, but she isn’t.
Rather, the young rider suffers from the pressure of her ambitious mother, the horse farm owner Katharina (Valerie Neuhaus). But the script also has a heart for the “Prosecco Bitch” (original sound Dilek). This becomes apparent when Katharina and Sarah’s wet nail salon mom Jenny (Lana Cooper) follow the girls who have stormed – and they both get lost in the Finnish pampas. There’s no time to dwell on social differences that bring common adventure together. In general, there is a conciliatory tone in “Horse on a Stick”. That may not be a perfect fit for current circumstances. Still, it can’t hurt to at least see in the cinema how things could go better.
Conclusion: “Horse on a Stick” is by no means the first cinema release that shows the advantages of the “Special Children’s Film” initiative – and hopefully by no means the last.