Hidalgo [DVD] [2004]

Based on a true story, Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen, Lord of the Rings) is a wild cowboy type of man who races in long distance horse races though the country. His horse, called Hidalgo, who is a mustang has great endurance and has led Frank to never loose a race in his life.

Frank is invited to race in The Ocean of Fire, a 3000 mile race across the Arabian Desert along with the Arabians best horse racers. They are vicious racers and are not afraid to cheat. Can Hidalgo and Frank outrun the other competitors? Or will they die of thirst by sizzling in the baking hot sun?

This is a good adventure with some great action scenes. You're into it after the first 5 minutes. An outstanding performance by Viggo Mortensen and a great performance by 2 time Golden Globe award winner, Omar Sharif (Lawrence of Arabia). Also starring Said Taghmaoui (Three Kings).

It's something different to what you usually see. Overall a good film which will give you a fun two hours.

The problem with Hidalgo is that the narrative is packed with such a large number of supporting Arabic characters that, at times, it's particularly hard to figure out who is who, and more importantly, who is fighting whom. Many of the subplots such as Hopkin's attempt to rescue the daughter of a wealthy sheik (Omar Sharif) from a competitor in the race, seem almost tacked on. And while the shootout between Hopkins and the bad guys is lots of fun, it's as though the director has shredded historical accuracy and inserted this gratuitous action scene just to stretch the movie's length.

The story begins with Hopkins and Hidalgo wasting away their days as distance riders in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Frank formerly served in the U.S. military, but after witnessing the massacre at Wounded Knee he leaves the service a broken man. An emissary of a Bedouin horse breeder sees the show and contests Mr. Hopkins' label as the world's greatest long-distance rider. A challenge is made for the Oceans of Fire race across 3,000 miles of Arabian territory. The race is brutal and many people die from the vicious heat and the massive sandstorms. The Arabian challengers resent Frank and remind him that a non-Arab has never won the race. They chide him because Hidalgo is a lowly mustang, a mixed breed, regarded as impure and extremely inferior. They also deride Hopkins' participation in the dignified race, seeing it as a violation of the event's distinction.

Along the way Frank meets a spoiled, manipulative English horse breeder (Louise Lombard) who wishes that her own noble purebred Arabian stallion would win the race. She tries, at first, to bargain with Frank and then she tries to sabotage his race by trying to kill Hidalgo. But naturally, our hero, the laconic horseman cannot be bought, prevented, or turned away from his new quest.

Viggo was a wise choice for this role, and his lack of dialogue doesn't detract from his economical portrayal of Hopkins because his face - with his beautifully sculptured cheekbones and dimpled chin - is just so expressive. The light and sublime beauty of the Arabian Desert is gorgeously captured, along with some striking 1890's period detail, and there are also some great looking sword-fighting sequences. Watch for the final stunning final scene - which will absolutely break your heart, of a spectacular and beautiful stampede of wild horses across the American plains. Hidalgo is a sprawling, wide-screen, western epic that is probably being a little overly ambitious. There's no doubt that the film is fantastic to look at and if you love horses, you'll love the film, but the hokey, and predictable storyline ultimately weigh the film down and prevent it from being as good as it might have been. Mike Leonard December 04.