10 Sundance films to entertain, spark family discussion

Buckshot Brannaman is an aw-shucks hero who never claims to be more than an ordinary man. Yet he is a living legend in the horse world.

After abuse at the hand of his father and the early death of his mother, Brannaman was rescued by a foster family. He found safety and solace in horses, and became something of a shaman — and a real-life inspiration for the novel and movie “The Horse Whisperer.” Horse owners pay hundreds of dollars when they’re lucky enough to attend one of his four-day horse-training clinics.

“Buck” has the understated eloquence of the man himself.

“You don’t have to be a horse nut to fall for ‘Buck,’ one of those rare documentaries whose subject is so inherently fascinating that a fictional character could hardly compete.” — John DeFore, Washington Post

Cautions: Discussion of child abuse, mild language and an injury.