WHEN 3-year-old Rowan was diagnosed with autism, his parents— writer Rupert Isaacson and psych prof Kristin Neff—sought the best care.
But conventional medicine was unable to stop the boy from soiling himself and having four-hour tantrums.
Then his parents noticed that Rowan was much calmer when he was around horses.
So his folks did what any parents would under the circumstances: They traveled to Outer Mongolia, where horseback riding is said to have started—to have Rowan treated by shamans.
Guess what? Their far-fetched idea paid off. Rowan wasn’t cured of autism, but he was largely freed of its symptoms.
His story is told in “The Horse Boy,” which was called “Over the Hills and Far Away” when it unreeled at Sundance in January.
The story is nothing if not uplifting, but it unfolds in a conventional, uninspired documentary style better suited to the small screen, where it soon will reside. Wait.
Running time: 93 minutes. Not rated. At the IFC Center, Sixth Avenue and Third Street.