Hidalgo – 3000 Meilen zum Ruhm (2004)

Hidalgo – 3000 Meilen zum Ruhm: Directed by Joe Johnston. With Viggo Mortensen, Zuleikha Robinson, Omar Sharif, Louise Lombard. In 1890, a down-and-out cowboy and his horse travel to Arabia to compete in a deadly cross desert horse race.

“Reading one of the commentaries about this movie urged me to write one of my own. It does seem to me, today, that a movie needs to be ridiculously full of stunts and action sequences (and blood, violence etc) to be considered worth while by the rank and file who are watching. How sad is that? I guess I am in the minority, but I want more to a movie than special effects.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI had wanted to see this movie from the start, but was never able to get to the theater, so I got it the minute it came out on DVD. I know it was supposed to be a u0026quot;True Storyu0026quot; but as is I would doubt it – too Hollywood. But hey, the long and short of it is . . . Viggo. Horses. I am so there. Who cares if it did not really happen this way?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnyway, now that I have seen it, I canu0026#39;t say I was disappointed at all. I was raised in a scouting family that was very involved in u0026quot;Indian Loreu0026quot; and the chants brought back memories. I think Native American history is complex and interesting, and we can still learn from the mistakes made on both sides. And Native Lore is ingrained in the message this movie had to tell. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eEVERY movie lately seems to be overcoming obstacles and winning even when you had no chance . . . you canu0026#39;t sit through a day of the Disney Channel without getting that drummed into you! But this was different. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFrank T Hopkins was what was then called a u0026quot;half breedu0026quot;, but he passed as white, and not wanting to deal with his race, he hid it (except for speaking the language, which I assumed many white men who were close to the land could do). Although he tried to deny it, his bloodlines brought him back to it time and again. Although being in the race had nothing to do with being a u0026quot;half breedu0026quot; on the surface, it was all about it in the end. Hidalgo was an u0026quot;Indian ponyu0026quot; – a breed that was facing extinction. The horse was constantly being put down by both the whites and the Arabs. While defending the horse constantly, Hopkins yet shunned his own heritage and culture, and only when he accepted it did he win the race. And yet he should have known it all along, since the horse, the symbol of that heritage, was his most prized friend. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI got my back up a little when I read that someone thought the movie was was u0026quot;moralisticu0026quot; until they finally got to the action. Gee, arenu0026#39;t movies supposed to be moralistic? Should we not learn from our entertainment, or is it just mindless slaughter and CGI? It was like, yeah yeah, forget the plot, letu0026#39;s see some action.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAction is fine, but I liked all the little coincidences, symbolisms and tie-ins to other characters. The tie-in to Jazia (the sheiku0026#39;s daughter) wearing a veil over her head was perfect. They were both less in the eyes of white men, but in reality they were fine for what they were. They just had to accept it. The symbol of the natives, a necklace given to him by a chief friend, became his symbol as well, when his servant mistakenly used it for their flag. In the end it was no mistake at all. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eYes, it was the typical Disney underdog wins, but there was something extra to it. At least to me, and I am not sorry to say I still watch movies for the message, not the phony thrills.”