Variety - "...this compelling docu[mentary] presents its story via multiple access points: the subject of autism, the notion of alternative healing and the simple travelogue appeal of an excursion to remote, untamed Mongolia. Pic[ture] has the nerve to be spiritual without entering the minefield of faith, and through careful handling, could resonate strongly with underserved aud[ience]s."
The New York Times - "Resolutely unvarnished ...and astonishingly intimate, “The Horse Boy” chronicles a couple in emotional and physical extremity. Though experts are on hand...to tell us how little they know about autism, the film is not a primer on this heartbreaking condition. Instead it recounts a deeply personal, highly subjective and inarguably thought-provoking story of one family’s quest for a certain kind of peace."
The Backrow Manifesto - "...What might have been a glorified story of the failures of western medicine and the condescending construction of an exotic, alluring eastern tradition is, in the hands of director Michael Orion Scott, one of the most engaging, hopeful documentaries I have ever seen."
Moving Pictures Magazine - "...an affirmation that it is only by indulging in other cultures that we can even begin to question ours - and that, in the end, if we can't begin to accept and love those in our lives for who they are and how they're great, then our eyes will never fully be open and suffering never truly be eased."
Hammer to Nail - "To say that this nonfiction film surpasses your average "case study of an affliction" flick would be a gross understatement, for it is both a thrillingly cinematic and rollicking adventure story, as well as an intimate journey into a family's most private and tormented moments."
This is a deeply moving, truly one-of-a-kind story of a family willing to go to the ends of the earth to help their son's autism, and of a boy learning to connect with the world for the first time.
Films Release
