Rating: PG
Genre:
Children's/Family
Release Date: 03/21/2006
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DD5.1/DDS2.0
Run Time: 106 Minutes
Flags: Adult Language
Distributor/Studio: DreamWorks
A man and his young daughter face almost impossible odds as they struggle to help an injured horse return to the racetrack in this family-friendly
drama.
Ben Crane (
Kurt Russell) is a horse trainer whose career has gone into a bit of a slump, and after years as his own boss, he's signed on to work for
Palmer (
David Morse), a breeder whose wealth and success has given him a certain degree of arrogance. While
Ben has learned to keep his mouth shut around his boss, he forgets himself when one of his favorite horses,
Sonador, breaks its leg during an important race.
Palmer insists that the horse should be put down on the spot, but
Ben doesn't have the heart to kill the animal, especially since his young daughter,
Cale (
Dakota Fanning), is in the stands watching.
Ben and
Palmer have harsh words with one another, and
Ben is fired, but is allowed to take
Sonador with him when he leaves.
Ben has a hard time convincing anyone that the injured horse has any potential, especially his father,
Pop (
Kris Kristofferson), a fellow trainer who rarely sees eye to eye with his son. But
Cale loves the horse, and
Ben believes that
Sonador can make a comeback with the right care, and together with stable men
Balon (
Luis Guzman) and
Manolin (
Freddy Rodriguez), he sets out to put the filly on the road to recovery. As its subtitle suggests,
Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story was based on the story of
Mariah's Storm, a filly who broke a leg during a race in 1993, but a year later came back to win the Arlington Heights Oaks, and in 1995 won the Turfway Breeder's Cup.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
