Nokota Heart is the story about a dying pocket of American culture, lovingly shot by Irish director Sean Garland. The film tells the unique story of rancher Leo Kuntz - Vietnam vet, grizzled frontiersman, and breeder of soon-to-be-extinct Nokota horses, rode by Leo's idol Sitting Bull. The preservation of these amazing creatures has constantly been under threat since the early 1900s in Midwestern states, until brothers Leo and Frank Kuntz began purchasing horses in the late '70s and set up a foundation to protect them.
As an American (admittedly not from the Midwest but the suburban jungles of New York), Nokota Heart was a very intriguing and often heart-rending portrait of a part of the culture that I was not initially aware of. Although Leo is an inimitable subject whose no-sh*t one-liners are humorous and down-homey, you can tell that under his calm, gruff exterior is a man deeply saddened by the gradual passing of an era. Something that really stayed with me was Leo's story about how the Native American population in North Dakota are slowly becoming modernised and losing interest with the horses tamed by their ancestors in the 1800s.
Unfortunately, I think one of Leo's friends summed it up best by saying that the Kuntzes are trying to preserve something that has become irrelevant. In our modern age of smart phones, on demand TV and instant access technology, it's sad to think that people like Leo and all of the things he has worked so hard for are gradually fading away.
The film has some incredible shots of the North Dakota badlands, herds of horses thunderously pounding through the fields, and also some fantastic, unintentionally (?) surreal moments, such as when a group of Nokotas all stand peering into the camera lens simultaneously, eerily calm and still in the Midwestern sunset. A beautifully made campfire tale of a fading way of life.
As an American (admittedly not from the Midwest but the suburban jungles of New York), Nokota Heart was a very intriguing and often heart-rending portrait of a part of the culture that I was not initially aware of. Although Leo is an inimitable subject whose no-sh*t one-liners are humorous and down-homey, you can tell that under his calm, gruff exterior is a man deeply saddened by the gradual passing of an era. Something that really stayed with me was Leo's story about how the Native American population in North Dakota are slowly becoming modernised and losing interest with the horses tamed by their ancestors in the 1800s.
Unfortunately, I think one of Leo's friends summed it up best by saying that the Kuntzes are trying to preserve something that has become irrelevant. In our modern age of smart phones, on demand TV and instant access technology, it's sad to think that people like Leo and all of the things he has worked so hard for are gradually fading away.
The film has some incredible shots of the North Dakota badlands, herds of horses thunderously pounding through the fields, and also some fantastic, unintentionally (?) surreal moments, such as when a group of Nokotas all stand peering into the camera lens simultaneously, eerily calm and still in the Midwestern sunset. A beautifully made campfire tale of a fading way of life.
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