Dreamer
Today is the last day that nominations for the Silmarillion Awards are open! Make sure you get your votes in before 11:59pm tonight! The top five most nominated/seconded characters in each category will move on to the final round of voting next week. Now, on to our regularly scheduled programming...
"So you like the stupid king?"
"Yeah. I like the stupid king."
"I love the stupid king."
Dreamer is one of those movies about a horse... that really isn't about the horse. It's about a family. It's about hope, and forgiveness, and dreaming, and remaining optimistic and believing in something bigger than yourself.
Whenever I think about the stories and movies I love the most, it generally comes down to the characters. And this movie has a pretty fantastic line-up of lovable characters. Ben Krane - played by Kurt Russell - is a racehorse-trainer is down on his luck. He cannot seem to catch a break. At the beginning of the movie, it is obvious that this is a family that has already been through some hard times, and relationships are strained.
Ben's precocious daughter Cale — Dakota Fanning — just wants to spend time with her dad and fill their barn with horses like in the stories her grandpa tells her about what their farm used to be like. One day, she goes with Ben to the race track where he works and witnesses a terrible accident. The owner wants the horse put down, but Ben will not allow that to happen in front of his young daughter... so they end up taking the horse home with them and nursing her back to health. This process of rehabilitating the horse becomes a beautiful picture of the family unit being restored, as well.
Truly a family-friendly film this one is a must-see. The moments of humor scattered throughout will give you just enough time to dry your eyes before the next scene tugs at your heartstrings once again. I can't get through this movie without a box of kleenex, and I've seen it at least a dozen times!
If you love movies about horses like The Black Stallion and Seabiscuit... then I guarantee you'll love Dreamer!
Dreamer is available to rent at Amazon and iTunes and various other online places. At some point, I need to talk about some movies that are available on Netflix or something for free, but it is not my fault that Netflix's movie selection is kinda lame. I promise, I'm not making any money by recommending movies that you can rent at Amazon and iTunes. I'm just talking about movies that I happen to own and love, and my husband said I should let you know the places said movies might be available to rent.