Window Horses

Window Horses

Year: 2016

Runtime: 85 mins

Language: English

Director: Ann Marie Fleming

AnimationDrama

A young Canadian poet, Rosie Ming, is invited to perform at a poetry festival in Shiraz, Iran, despite her desire to be in Paris. Living with her overprotective Chinese grandparents and having never traveled alone, she embarks on an unexpected journey. Surrounded by poets and Persians, Rosie is compelled to confront her past, including the Iranian father she believed had abandoned her, and to contemplate the essence of poetry. Through storytelling and cultural exchange, she explores themes of forgiveness, reconciliation, and the importance of understanding one's heritage and finding one's voice.

Hopeful
Happy ending
Moderately emotional
Medium intensity
Steady pacing
Moderate complexity

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Timeline & Setting – Window Horses (2016)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Window Horses (2016). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Late 20th century to early 21st century

The story traverses the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, the Iran–Iraq War, and contemporary life as Rosie travels to Iran for the festival. Mehran's life moves from the Shah's era through post-revolution turmoil to exile, before a hopeful reunion. The festival's modern setting contrasts traditional Iranian culture with Western-influenced poetry, underscoring cross-cultural dialogue across eras.

Location

Vancouver, Shiraz, Iran, Turkey, Canada

Rosie lives with her Chinese-Canadian grandparents in Vancouver, a city known for its diverse arts scene and coastal setting. The poetry festival unfolds in Shiraz, Iran, a city steeped in Persian poetic heritage and home to the tomb of Hafez that inspires the poets. Mehran's backstory takes him from exile in Turkey to Canada, highlighting the transnational paths of diasporic families.

🌍 Multicultural 🗺️ Travel 🏙️ City

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:25

Main Characters – Window Horses (2016)

Meet the key characters of Window Horses (2016), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Rosie Ming (Sandra Oh)

An aspiring poet from Vancouver who travels to Shiraz to participate in a poetry festival. She is imaginative, determined, and willing to challenge cultural expectations, using performance and translation to bridge East and West. Her search for identity drives the film’s emotional arc as she reunites with her father.

🎨 Creativity 🌍 Identity 🎭 Drama

Mehrnaz (Shohreh Aghdashloo)

The festival's cultural ambassador who supports Rosie and helps navigate the complexities of cross-cultural artistry. She guides Rosie toward translating Di Di's poem, recognizing the political weight of poetry in exile. She embodies cultural diplomacy and mentorship.

🎓 Culture 🌍 Connection 🕊️ Guidance

Mehran (Navid Negahban)

Rosie’s Iranian father, a former fighter pilot who later becomes a teacher of poetry. His life spans the Shah era, the Revolution, and exile, revealing the costs of political upheaval. His desire to reconnect clashes with past family wounds, culminating in a reunion.

🎖️ Veteran 🧭 Identity 🎨 Poetry

Gloria (Nancy Kwan)

Rosie’s Chinese-Canadian grandmother who initially resists Rosie’s trip to Iran. Her protective stance masks a deep love and commitment to family, and her perspective helps Rosie understand intergenerational memory.

💔 Family 🕊️ Protection 🗺️ Migration

Dietmar (Don McKellar)

A German poet whose disdain for Rosie’s Parisian sensibilities creates a rivalry but also a moment of collaboration when he teams with Rosie for a crowd-pleasing piece. He represents Western critique and satire within the festival.

🎭 Competition 🧭 Perspective 🪶 Irony

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:25

Major Themes – Window Horses (2016)

Explore the central themes of Window Horses (2016), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🌍 Diaspora

Rosie navigates a blended identity between Vancouver and Shiraz, balancing family history with new cultural ties. The journey exposes the pull of roots and the responsibilities of maintaining heritage across borders. The film uses Rosie’s translations and performances to highlight how diasporic voices reshape home.

🎨 Artistry

Poetry, translation, and performance are central to the narrative, turning personal expression into cultural dialogue. Rosie improvises at the festival, illustrating how art can defy expectations and cross political divides. The collaboration with other poets shows art as a universal language.

🕊️ Reunion

The long-awaited father–daughter reunion reframes family history from distance and secrecy to connection and forgiveness. The film traces the emotional path from misunderstanding to acceptance as Mehran and Rosie exchange letters and shared moments. Reconciliation is portrayed through shared poetry and performance.

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 06:25

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Journeys of Cultural Discovery like Window Horses

Stories where traveling to a new country unlocks a deeper understanding of heritage.If you liked the cultural exploration in Window Horses, find more movies about characters reconnecting with their heritage. These stories share a steady, reflective pace as protagonists travel to ancestral lands, uncovering family secrets and finding their voice through a new understanding of their identity.

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Narrative Summary

These narratives follow a protagonist, often feeling culturally displaced, who travels to a place of ancestral significance. The plot unfolds through encounters with locals, family members, or traditions, forcing the character to confront misconceptions and piece together a fragmented personal history. The central conflict is typically emotional and internal, revolving around acceptance and understanding rather than external drama.

Why These Movies?

Movies in this thread share a hopeful, culturally rich tone and a medium emotional weight. They are grouped by their focus on the transformative power of cultural immersion, the pacing of steady discovery, and the uplifting resolution of reconciling with one's past.

Quiet Artistic Character Studies like Window Horses

Gentle films about creative individuals piecing together their emotional world.For viewers who enjoyed the poetic and introspective nature of Window Horses, this list highlights movies with similar gentle pacing. These films follow artists, writers, and creators as they navigate emotional challenges, using their art as a lens for understanding themselves and finding reconciliation.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern centers on a creative protagonist grappling with a personal history of loss or misunderstanding. The story unfolds not through high-stakes action but through dialogues, flashbacks, and artistic expression. The climax is often an emotional breakthrough or a moment of forgiveness, leading to a happy or bittersweet resolution that feels earned through quiet contemplation.

Why These Movies?

These movies are grouped by their shared medium pacing, moderate complexity, and focus on internal growth. They possess a reflective and melancholic yet hopeful mood, avoiding high intensity or strong violence in favor of emotional authenticity and psychological resolution centered around an artistic soul.

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Window Horses Summary

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Window Horses Summary

Window Horses Timeline

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Window Horses Timeline

Window Horses Spoiler-Free Summary

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Window Horses Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Window Horses

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