The Mustang is a true story. At least the story derives its existence from a rehabilitation ranch in Carson City, Nevada, USA. The film with Matthias Schoenaerts was released in 2019 and it is the real story of La Mustang.
The Mustang
In The Mustang, Roman Coleman is a condemned man behind bars facing his violent past. He has the opportunity to participate in a rehabilitation program in which he must help tame wild horses. Coleman is aided by veteran trainer Myles and fellow inmate Henry. They increasingly help Roman find his own humanity.
The true story of the Mustang
The characters in The Mustang are fictional, so Roman, Myles, and Henry don’t really exist and didn’t exist. However, ‘The Mustang’ is based on an actual rehabilitation clinic in the desert of Nevada, the US state best known for ‘city of sinVegas.
animal therapy
Director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre told IndieWire in 2019 that before developing The Mustang, she was actually completely unfamiliar with animal therapy until she read an article in a French magazine: . Rabbits for example, mice, chinchillas, birds. These crazy combinations of hardened criminals and animals immediately intrigued me.
She even made a short film about it, Rabbit, which followed a prisoner trying to bond with a therapy rabbit. And one thing leading to another, the idea of The Mustang was born. But first De Clermont-Tonnerre contacted a large number of American prisoners, whom she wanted to understand. It went wonderfully well for her: “It really wasn’t difficult at all. I never felt like a stranger, an outsider. My research absorbed me completely and I was busy day after day with these men. I listened to their stories and they felt safe with me.
rehabilitation ranch
She decided to go to a rehabilitation ranch for mustangs, American wild horses, in Carson City. Every year, horses and wild donkeys are housed there, whose survival is in danger. The hope is that these beasts can be tamed, after which they are meant to be placed with new owners. Before that, however, mustangs are tamed and trained by prisoners behind bars in Nevada.
good example
By the way, two ex-convicts also play in The Mustang: Thomas Smith, for example. De Clermont-Tonnerre hoped to set a good example: “This country needs that. Of course, there are programs for ex-convicts, but they often leave something to be desired. The United States has the largest prison population in the world, but that immediately means prisons need to be inventive. Beautiful programs have been put in place, even if there should be many more!