Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance

Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance
Film poster
Directed byLouise Osmond
Release dates
  • 23 January 2015 (2015-01-23) (Sundance Film Festival)
  • 17 April 2015 (2015-04-17)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance is a 2015 documentary directed by Louise Osmond.

Synopsis

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In a small valley town in South Wales, a barmaid decides to breed a racehorse she ultimately names Dream Alliance. She and her husband buy a broodmare and she asks other villagers to join in the effort with funding and advice.[1][2] The horse goes on to win the Welsh Grand National.[1][3]

Reception

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On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 96%, based on 77 reviews, and an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Dark Horse offers a thoroughly crowd-pleasing look at an incredible — and inspirational — real-life story that will thrill equine enthusiasts and novices alike."[4] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]

In The Observer, Jonathan Romney found the film to be "a good-humoured, no-frills story" adding that it has "the classic feelgood arc, but it’s also very political, revealing the snobbery directed not just at the owners but the horse itself".[6]

It won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Telegraph Film (26 February 2015). "Dark Horse trailer: the equine Rocky". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  2. ^ van Hoeij, Boyd (25 January 2015). "'Dark Horse': Sundance Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  3. ^ Jones, Emma (2 February 2015). "British horseracing tale wows Sundance". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 30 November 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Dark Horse (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on 31 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Dark Horse (2016) Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  6. ^ Romney, Jonathan (19 April 2015). "Dark Horse review – good-humoured documentary about unlikely Welsh Grand National winner". The Observer. Guardian News and Media. Archived from the original on 31 May 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Dark Horse". Sundance Film Festival. The Sundance Institute. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
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