A young Lakota rodeo star named Brady suffers a brain injury in a bad fall and is told another ride could kill him. He has to work out who he is without horses. Look at how real people play versions of themselves in the South Dakota Badlands.
The Rider is a 2018 drama and western film directed by Chloé Zhao. This breakdown covers 5 techniques (3 narrative, 1 cinematography and 1 psychology), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Escape to Victory uses several of the same techniques.
Casting real people from the community being shown, such as workers and local residents, with no trained actors in those roles. Their looks and behavior feel true in a way acting can't copy.
How this film uses it
The cast is made up of real people. Brady Jandreau plays Brady, with his own father Tim and his sister Lilly in the family roles, and Lane Scott plays the friend who lives in a care facility. Their ease on screen makes the family scenes feel observed instead of staged.
Where to see it
Family scenes: Brady, his father Wayne and his sister Lilly share their trailer and their money troubles. Brady also visits his friend Lane, who lives in a care facility after a similar accident.
Writing a disabled character as a full person with humor, anger, desire and choices of their own. The disability is one part of their life, and the film never plays it for tragedy or inspiration.
How this film uses it
Brady's injury weakens his right hand and gives him seizures, but the film never asks you to feel sorry for him. He takes a job at a grocery store and keeps breaking in horses. Lane gets the same dignity, even as he lives in care.
Where to see it
Grocery job and horses: with his savings he plans to buy a horse. His father buys the horse Apollo for him, and Brady bonds with it.
Photographing real landscapes like mountains, plains and rivers so they feel mythic and full of meaning. The land becomes a spiritual and moral test the characters have to cross.
How this film uses it
The Badlands of South Dakota give the story a sense of myth. The wide land and open sky carry the sense that horses and riding are the center of Brady's life. Without them, he is lost in a landscape he loves.
Where to see it
Badlands: the film was shot in the Badlands of South Dakota. Brady rides and trains horses there, even though doctors warn him not to.
Making a character face their own death or age, so time becomes visible. The confrontation changes what they value.
How this film uses it
After a near-fatal seizure Brady hears that more riding could kill him. His horse is badly hurt and has to be put down, which forces him to face how fragile life is. His dreams change, and what he values changes with them.
Where to see it
Seizure and the horse: Brady's refusal to rest causes a near-fatal seizure. Back home, he finds his horse injured and has to ask his father to put it down.
Changing what counts as winning partway through the story, so the hero chases a smaller, personal goal. The ending can then feel like a triumph even when the hero loses.
How this film uses it
Brady enters a rodeo against doctors' orders because he wants to prove himself. When he sees his family watching, he walks away. Winning stops meaning a trophy and starts meaning staying alive for the people he loves.
Where to see it
Rodeo walk-away: just before he competes, Brady sees his family watching him. He decides to walk away from the competition and from life as a rodeo rider.
Questions
The Rider: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does The Rider use?
CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in The Rider (2018): Non-Professional Cast Authenticity, Disability Without Pity, Landscape as Sacred Geography, Mortality Confrontation Arc and Redefined Victory.
Who directed The Rider?
Chloé Zhao directed The Rider, released in 2018. CineCode also covers Nomadland (2020), Eternals (2021), Hamnet (2025).
What films are similar to The Rider?
Films that share techniques with The Rider include Escape to Victory (1981), Thelma & Louise (1991), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), City of God (2002).
