About a week ago a friend called to tell me I should take my kids to see Dreamer. Knowing what horse people we were, he said it was a must see for our family. We took his advice today and dodged the cold and a lazy Sunday afternoon to take in this movie, which is about much more then horses, or even dreams coming true. It's about the family, about how they hurt each other, and eventually how they help each other to heal.
Set in the heart of horse country, Lexington Kentucky, Dreamer is about the Crane family and a race horse, Sonodor (Spanish for dreamer), aka Sonja. The movie opens with the beautiful landscape, and the voice-over of young Cale Crane, played by Dakota Fanning, talking about the large pastures, the big barn, and the comment that "It must be the only horse farm in Lexington, without any horses." A fact that soon changes.
As the story unfolds, we learn that Ben Crane, played by Kurt Russell, is a well-respected trainer working for Palmer. Crane's boss, ignores his advice, that Sonodor is not fit to run the race and the horse takes a horrific fall, breaking its cannon bone. Everyone but Crane is set on putting the horse down, and an argument ensues. In the end, Crane losses his job, but gains the horse.
More then second chances and healing for the horse, the movie is also about the many broken relationships that are in need of repair, that of young Cale and her father, as well as Ben and his father, Pop, played by Kris Kristofferson.
A Dreamworks Production, Dreamer, inspired by a true story, takes you through several emotional highs and lows, often you think things are going well, only to find the whole group faced with another series of challenges.
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