The Bull Rider
2015 · 9m · USA
Directed by Joris Debeij
Genres: documentary
Tones: contemplative, melancholic
A meditative documentary portrait of veteran bull rider and coach Gary Leffew, who reflects on the mental discipline and inner stillness the sport demands. Sparse narration and immersive sound design draw the viewer into Leffew's mind and the way of life that shaped him.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Everyone expects rodeo docs to be all dust and danger—Debeij flips the table entirely, turning adrenaline into stillness, which is genuinely weird and kind of brilliant, even if the meditative angle feels a bit too polished for my taste.
Debeij situates himself squarely in the essay-film tradition of Valeska Grisbach and the Dardenne brothers—economical narration, immersive soundscape, a portrait that trusts quietude—and the formal restraint here is exactly what elevates a niche subject into something architecturally considered.
The choice to let sound design do the heavy lifting instead of montage—those minute details of leather, breath, arena ambience building the whole interior world—is what makes nine minutes feel earned and never thin.
Reviews
Through its precise direction, reflective qualities and deceptive representation, [Debeij] takes his brand of documentary filmmaking into new spheres.
The use of scarce narration and the film's sound design only adding to the brooding, contemplative approach – drawing the viewer into the mind and spirit of bull rider Leffew.