Hidalgo
2004
Directed by: Joe Johnston
Written by: John Fusco
Main Cast:
Viggo Mortensen - Frank Hopkins
Zuleikha Robinson - Jazira
Omar Sharif - Sheikh Riyadh
Louise Lombard - Lady Anne Davenport
Adam Alexi-Malle - Aziz
Saïd Taghmaoui - Prince Bin Al Reeh
Silas Carson - Katib
Harsh Nayyar - Yusef
J.K. Simmons - Buffalo Bill Cody
Adoni Maropis - Sakr
Victor Talmadge - Rau Rasmussen
Peter Mensah - Jaffa
Joshua Wolf Coleman - The Kurd
Franky Mwangi - Slave Boy
Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman - Chief Eagle Horn
Rated PG-13
To sum up: Hidalgo is the greatest long distance racing horse ever
and he's going to the Arabian Desert to prove it.
“You know what you're up against, American friend? The Ocean of Fire
is not just a race. It's full of obstacles you can't even imagine. And if the
elements don't kill you, your fellow riders will.”
“Sounds an awful lot like South Dakota.”
The main reason to see “Hidalgo" is to stare
into the dreamy eyes of the film’s star, Viggo Mortensen. Even though he’s
dirty, with messy hair, a scratched face, and crusty lips desperately in need
of some lip balm, he’s still the hottest thing in the Saudi Arabian desert.
Here he
plays Frank Hopkins a half Native American army courier. Eventually one of the
dispatches he delivers results in the famous Ghost Dance Massacre at Wounded
Knee. I went to a college where they didn’t allow dancing but this is
overkill. Dejected and burnt out, Frank becomes a drunken fool
performing for Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show during the 1890’s.
Here he
seems destined to drift into oblivion save for one thing; the renown of his
horse named Hidalgo. Though he
isn’t a purebred horse, Hidalgo is able to consistently win all of these
long distance races. Some Arabs get wind of the claim of Hidalgo being the
best and are offended by the idea of an impure breed being called that and
want the claim rescinded. They argue that Frank and his horse would not
last in the famed Arab "Ocean of Fire" race - a 3,000 mile adventure
vacation where you get to run out of water, brave blistering heat, desert
sandstorms and race a bunch of Arabs to the finish line. So one entry fee
later, Frank is headed to the Middle East to compete in this
“greatest of races”.
Don’t
worry about whether or not such a race ever actually took place. Even though
the film is based on the life of Frank Hopkins, I suspect that the inspiration
is as loose as a pair of pants on a Jenny Craig graduate. This film comes off
as an adventure film more than anything.
That’s
kind of the problem, it’s not exactly sure what kind of film it wants to be.
Is it a character study where Frank finds a new focus on life through a
baptism of the desert sand? Is it portraying triumph over adversity by an
underdog? Is it a comment of the superiority of “Western” thinking, where
all men (and horses) are created equal and can achieve anything through hard
work and perseverance? Is it an Indiana Jones style shoot-em-up right down to
the rescue of the kidnapped princess? Is it about the horse and how this tiny
animal has more heart than his bigger Arabian brethren do? It is all those
things and because it is too many things, the film’s focus is as hazy as an
oasis on the desert horizon.
Since the
film is called Hidalgo, you can bet it should be about a horse. And what a
horse! He will stay tied up until whistled then untie himself and run to his
master. It’s a cliché that horses instantly come when someone whistles at
them. It’s a good thing that none of the Arabs whistle to call their horses.
With 100 people all whistling for their steed, these poor horses wouldn’t
know which way to go. Either that or like mother seals hearing their young,
horses are able to pick out the distinctive pitch of their owner’s whistle.
Though a
lot if time is spent on telling us how great the horse is, they don’t spend
a lot of time showing us. There are instances where the greatness of Hidalgo
is shown, particularly in some running moments. Ands when he lines up at the
starting line when Viggo is about to give up, he seems to know more than us
mere humans. Yep he has a big heart. But there is never really a good shot of
Hidalgo squaring off against his Arabian brethren. More was needed of this.
The horse also seems to have endurance beyond far beyond any normal animal.
His hooves can start to split, he can be impaled with spikes, he can drip
blood from his nose, he’s working so hard but through it all he keeps going
and going. He’s the Energizer Horsy. It’s nice to know he has heart but
when Hidalgo gets impaled through the leg with a pike and lets Viggo cut him
free (it was only a flesh wound through the skin) and after that let’s the
wound be cauterized with a hot pike and is up and running shortly after that,
it stretches the bounds of believability just a bit.
Viggo is
good producing an honest burnout who happens to have a heart of gold. There is
also a clear bond between him and the horse, really the one creature in the
film he relates to. Omar Sharif as Sheikh Riyadh the Arab leader is charmingly
disarming. It’s good to see the old boy basically reproduce the same type of
character he played in “Lawrence of Arabia”. Zuleikha Robinson as
the strong willed daughter Jazira is both exotic and vulnerable. Though she
isn’t more than a wanna-be liberated woman trying to survive in a sexist
culture.
As a
distracting adventure film, “Hidalgo” will do the trick. It has scenic
vistas aplenty and though a bit long will entertain none-the-less.
If
there’s nothing else to do, you can all go to “Hidalgo”.
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