THE RIDER is a story about overcoming trauma, much like JOURNEYMAN, but it pack the added punch of the real. What is a rider who can’t ride? “My mom and dad taught me everything I know, but I learned a lot on back looking down them ears”. It’s easy to forget how connected the brain is to everything physical we do, the body bucks like an unbroken horse when the wrong signals are sent. Brady (Brady Jandreau) gets aftershocks of his life-changing rodeo injury, most prominently his riding hand locking up at inopportune moments, but we also get the constant reminder that everything could have gone so much worse by the presence of Lane Scott. It is these scenes shared by Brady and Lane, two real-life friends with differing levels of brain injury that shake you on a profound level. The hefty emotions, writer-director Chloé Zhao’sno-nonsense storytelling and understated beauty makes this a film that completely floors you. SSP