Unbranded: Four Men and Sixteen Wild Mustangs on a 3000-Mile Journey

There are different kinds of crazy. Great crazy that serves up determination, vision, and hope to accomplish a dream in the wildly gorgeous American West, and stupid crazy like the dapper man I observed driving his Bentley while smoking a bong I presumed to be marijuana. I was headed to the screening of the new documentary Unbranded in Beverly Hills. Unbranded tells the story of four recent college grads, who decide to ride wild horses - mustangs - from Mexico to Canada on public lands. At times, they rode through treacherous conditions. In between observing gorgeous landscapes - that got more dramatic and beautiful as they headed north - we learn Mustangs populate public lands in the American West, especially in Nevada. They were a gift of the Spanish Missionaries, who brought them over from Spain five hundred years ago. The movie explores the controversy of their regulation, ranchers who compete for natural resources and what it takes to adopt a mustang. The spirit of adventure is well represented by the four young, strong and fearless cowboys: Ben Masters, Jonny Fitzsimons, Thomas Glover and Ben Thamer. Environmental and animal welfare were addressed with meaningful interviews interspersed through film. And a man named Val Geissler embodied the heart of the film. Val, an experienced horse-rider with a love for adventure, spoke touchingly of losing his four year old son, who he felt would have grown up to be just like the four young adventurers. Val lovingly called each of the young men "son" when he'd see them at different meeting spots on the journey. Val offered advice while bringing whatever was needed. Val personally wrote and sang a song called "Border to Border", which was worth the film in itself... So touching the sentiment, and his heart sings against sweeping visuals: angles of landscapes few of us have seen. Kudos to the cameramen! See this film if you love the American West like I do and appreciate folks who come up with a courageous idea and get it done. I recommend this movie opening in Los Angeles on September 25, 2015 at select Laemmle theaters. Check listings. Also opening nationwide and video on demand. Photo credit: Ben Masters and Cory Richards