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France · 2011
1h 41m
Director Benjamin Marquet
Starring
Genre Documentary
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In a small village near Paris, 14-year-old boys and girls enter the training center for future lads and jockeys. The transition between the family environment and this new world is brutal for these young pupils. They enter a world where the comfort of the horses comes before that of the human.
Half-formed expressions of disappointment, hope, struggle, confusion, and boyish playfulness on faces otherwise marked by youth's inexperience, and a self-consciousness brought on by the curiosity of being filmed, constitute the most memorable moments of Lads & Jockeys, a documentary on 14-year-old aspiring jockeys in France.
New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman
Racing enthusiasts will appreciate historical footage, while a thread about a new student overwhelmed by his responsibilities has promise. But after a decent start, Marquet stumbles, never making it across the finish line.
The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis
Lads & Jockeys conveys first-race terrors and last-place humiliation with indulgent thoroughness.