It premieres at the Locarno Film Festival this week. The Cavalry is a stunning experimental short documentary that acts like a modern-day Trojan Horse. In the opening scene, director Alina Orlov entertains the audience with field footage of chirping birds, rising waves and swirling wind in a picturesque coastal community. The beauty of this natural setting is further enhanced as the camera pans to a paddock called Green Mountain Stables. Here we come face to face with a majestic Friesian horse. But this is no ordinary horse, it is an Israeli police horse.
A horse as a political weapon
While much of the 17-minute documentary focuses on the training of a single police horse, The Cavalry is not a story about horses. The deeper message captures the reality of life under the border separating Israel and the West Bank. Hiding the political chaos behind the beauty of this innocent horse is a clever approach that Orlov artfully executes. Subtitles replace voiceovers and drive the story narratively forward.
The film begins as a new horse joins the Israeli police force and is trained. Like a boot camp for aspiring soldiers, the horse is subjected to exercises that condition the animal to face fear. It is not abusive and is sometimes even comical to watch. The horse’s calm assertiveness, even while being poked and prodded by the Israeli soldier, is admirable and fosters a relationship based on trust. As we witness a developing bond, it is clear that The Cavalry is a film that celebrates this rich history between humans and mammals.
Art film meets political documentary
Director Alina Orlov takes an experimental approach to visual aesthetics. Shots of modern day life are shown in kaleidoscopic colors and contrasting imagery. Mixed media is used to depict historical moments. Both images are powerful and stunning. The decision to end the film with images of protests and horses in action is a sobering reality of the many faces of war.
Take away
Although it is a short film, The Cavalry feels much bigger than its running time. Part video art, part hyper-realistic documentary, The Cavalry is a frightening observation of the control and oppression in our society.
