Dec 22, 2008 10:07 AM
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You are a great champion.
When you ran, the ground shook.
The sky opened, and mere mortals parted.
Parted the way to victory,
where you'll meet me in the winner's circle—
and I'll put a blanket of flowers on your back.
There's something special about animals, specially dogs and horses. Show them a bit of love and affection, and they willingly lay down their lives for you. There's something which is so endearing about that unconditional love, that never-say-die spirit and those limpid eyes full of love, which never fails to tug at my heartstrings. I saw Dreamer on a lazy Sunday afternoon, snuggled in my quilt, caught in that no man's land between wakefulness and drowsiness, and what I saw was good enough to wake me up, and pay attention.
The story line is quite simple and predictable. Its about the Crane family, who live on a horse farm in Kentucky, which doesn't have a horse in the barn. Ben Crane(Kurt Russell) is forced to use his gift for horse training for the horsing barons. All this has left Ben estranged from his father(Kris Kristofferson) and distant from his wife Lily (Elizabeth Shue) who works double shifts at the local diner to help make ends meet. His young daughter Cale(Dakota Fanning, as endearing and engaging as ever), wants a horse as badly as she wants a loving, open relationship with her father. Inadvertently she acts as a common link between the father and son as well, who have both been burnt by the horse business.
One fine day, Cale insists her father take her to work with him. It was a big race day, and Ben was looking after the well-being of a horse with great potential, Sonador (Sonya for short, ahem). Sonya has an excellent shot at winning the race, but Ben notices her favoring a knee and acting generally skittish. Ben decides she shouldn't race, but is over-ruled by his opportunistic and greedy boss, Palmer(David Moss). Predictably, tragedy ensues. When Sonya goes down with an injury, Palmer orders her destroyed. Not wanting Cale to witness the procedure, Ben delays and eventually refuses his bosses' wishes, losing his job in the process. Against his better judgment (and swayed by the heartbroken compassion of his daughter), he negotiates the right to keep Sonya as part of his severance pay, and before he knows it the Crane Horse Farm has a very injured horse in its stables. The miraculous recovery of the horse —and of the family who loves her— provides the predictable but effective narrative arc of the rest of the movie.
John Gatins has directed this movie, based on true-life comeback of an injured racehorse named Mariah's Storm. The movie is full of cliches, an injured but giant-hearted animal, a young girl who is willing to go all out for her dream, a family who are ready to gamble all they have... There are no nasty surprises here, but to be honest, these are stories most of us, or at least some of us, including yours truly, don't mind hearing again and again. Fairy tales never lose their charm, do they, no matter how many times they are re-told, and specially because we know they exist in a neverland? Again, the story is rescued by stellar performances by the cast, (check out the resemblance between Kristofferson and Russell, its eerie) but the most notable performance comes from that heart stealer Dakota Fanning. She is the emotional centre of the movie, without being coy or insipid, as most child actors generally end up being. She is the real Dreamer who redeemed the jaded, cynical adults through her steadfast faith. Watch her feed popsicles and chocolate cake to Sonador, making the horse believe in herself, getting ready to run away with the mare, and finally, trying to find a sponsor for the race, and you will see her working her magic slowly, quietly, mesmerisingly. How she wins the trust of the horse, who goes on to become her constant companion will melt the hardest heart. One more area where the movie works for me, again , is the father daughter relationship, between Russell and Fanning.
Sonador is Spanish for "Dreamer" (courtesy Wikipedia), and the film ponders a lot on the importance of dreams, impossible as well as obtainable, to the human spirit. But most importantly, it shows the need and importance about dreaming together (as against Rock on, where the focus was on the individual dreams). The key is not just dreaming, but sharing it with the people you love. When Cale and her family all let themselves hope and work towards achieving the same goal, it leads to the best moments in their lives. It is not the rose blanket at the end of the Derby, its about the blood and the sweat and the toil and the tears, the knocks that you take, which make you determined to get up and try again, and ultimately its about that one person, who is there to lend you that hand, that arm and that shoulder... and share the dream. In the season of goodwill, hope and joy, the Dreamer helps in reaffirming the faith, "We Shall Prevail"
