VENICE, Italy (AP) — It's a rule of cinema that a movie about a boy and a horse will tug at the heartstrings.

Venice Film Festival entry "Lean on Pete" is no exception. Andrew Haigh's drama is about Charley, a lonely 15-year-old boy who befriends a tired old racehorse and sets out on a perilous journey across the American West.

The movie is set in a contemporary working-class America of motels, diners and grubby racetracks, but Haigh says it also has "almost a fable-esque element about it."

Haigh says that like his movie, "traditional folk tales are set in very bleak environments, often, but they have a slight beauty to them at the same time."

"Lean on Pete" has its premiere Friday in Venice, where it's among 21 films competing for the Golden Lion.