A farm in the north of Germany directly behind a levee, the wide open space and nature broken by a herd of wild young horses. A riding instructor taking a break from her girlfriend and city life, and two very different young women: Alex, an intern who had self-harming tendencies, including drug abuse and cutting, meets Kathy, an upper class girl on vacation with her horse, sheltered, friendly and open. Both discover something about themselves in the encounter, they get into trouble and in the end learn not to run away. Director Monika Treut does exactly what the title of her film promises: she tells a story of girls and horses. The plot lingers without being boring, which gives the film an almost documentary-like quality. The emotional development of the two girls is embedded naturally into the everyday details of life on the farm. The work with the horses is taxing and there is no time for individual time-outs. The country kids weren’t expecting the arrival of the seemingly arrogant Alex. Therefore, or for that very reason, the farm is the perfect setting for this coming-of-age story of girls with horses. The girls start to understand themselves just as they learn to handle the unadulterated strength and energy of the horses.

Anna Stemmler