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If Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy and Johnny Mack Brown were alive, they would have auditioned (with their horses, of course) for Hidalgo. Here, Hidalgo is a mustang pony that should be nominated for an animal Oscar. Viggo Mortensen is the other star of the film. This story is one of endurance for both horse and rider, as well as a story of finding one's identity -- for both horse and rider. Hidalgo is of mixed blood (using horse breeding language), descended from the ponies left behind by the Conquistadors. Frank T. Hopkins (Mortenson) is also of mixed parentage. His father was a Calvary officer, and his mother, Native American. Hopkins has been trying to find himself, and his horse takes some teasing, too. In the Arabian race, which is the theme of this film, an Arabian prince says he will win because he is part of "the people of the wind" (meaning fast horses), and he challenges Hopkins. Frank thinks for a moment and then makes a decision. "So am I," he states, and you can tell the prince and his horse are toast.

The story begins in approximately the year 1900 when Frank T. Hopkins works as a sort of mail carrier. He just misses the massacre at Wounded Knee, and it affects him so much that he takes up drinking and riding in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. After disgracing himself by falling off his horse into the lap of a representative of the Arabian government, Hopkins decides to enter the famous 3000-mile, Arabian horse race called The Ocean of Fire. It literally means riding through most of the deserts in the Arabian Peninsula and winning the $100,000 purse. The purebred horses of Arabia are expected to win, of course, but then there is Frank -- laid back and riding a smaller paint horse. What the horse breeders, with their shiny-coated, high-strung horses, don't anticipate is sheer bravado, endurance and strength of will. The American horse and rider have it.

Viggo Mortensen made a wise choice since finishing Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. In his latest film, he's back on a horse and fighting battles. His fans will be pleased, as Mortensen's character broods a bit, gets into action frequently, rides a horse well and meets pretty ladies but doesn't commit to a relationship. As for Hidalgo, I imagine his fan website will be up any day now. This is one tough little horse with attitude. Omar Shariff plays a sheik with a willful daughter and no sons left alive. In the film, Shariff's character secretly reads the old western dime novels and hungers for Hopkins' Colt .45 pistol.

The plot of Hidalgo really does read like a western dime novel. During the race, there are escapes from raiders, the rescue of an Arabian princess, traps and quicksand to avoid (is there really quicksand in the desert?), locust, a sandstorm straight out of The Mummy and racing sequences that Seabiscuit would have loved. By the way, in these races, the riders do not talk to each other during the horse race as in Seabiscuit. Who has time?

There is enough action to satisfy fans, and even though the ladies (the British aristocrat, Lady Davenport and then the Arabian princess) flirt a bit with Frank, he isn't interested. The villains are ones we can hiss and boo. One thing that is not explained is how this 3000-mile, thousand-year-old race, began. One would like to know who the first person was to run this race and what kind of horse he rode. Most importantly, was there ever such a race? One thing you can be sure of, just as there was a Seabiscuit, there must have been a Hidalgo somewhere who ran for the sheer joy of running. 

Copyright 2004 Marie Asner  February 29, 2004