"Mustang" accurately describes both horse and rider in Touchstone's latest release, "Hidalgo." The film is based on the true story of long-distance horse rider Frank Hopkins and his incredible horse, Hidalgo.
Coming off his great performance in "Lord of the Rings," Viggo Mortensen stars in this film as Frank Hopkins, an American cowboy, who with Hidalgo has won every single long-distance race he has ever entered.
The movie opens with a heart wrenching scene of the massacre at Wounded Knee Creek. After the brutality ends, Hopkins is distraught upon learning that he had carried the dispatch that gave the order to kill the Native Americans.
When he's not racing, Hopkins works as a performer in Buffalo Bill's Wild Wild West show. After a performance one day, the brother of a Sheikh approaches Hopkins with a proposition. There is a 3,000-mile race, known as the Ocean of Fire, that takes place in the Arabian deserts every year. Only the best riders are invited and the Sheikh's brother challenges Hopkins' claim that Hidalgo is the fastest long-distance horse in the world.
Hopkins accepts the invitation and leaves for the Middle East. While crossing the Atlantic, Hopkins meets the only other foreigner who will participate in the race, the British Lady Anne Davenport. Although she doesn't actually ride the horse in the race, a horse that she raised is competing. Hopkins also learns that she has entered the race in hopes of becoming the owner of the prized horse of Sheikh Riyadh, so that she can breed the fastest horses in the world.
After he arrives in the desert, Hopkins meets Sheikh Riyadh (Omar Sharif), where he learns of the Sheikh's family history and the pride and honor in breeding fine horses to compete in the Ocean of Fire. Hopkins also is introduced to the Sheikh's rebellious daughter, Jazira (Zuleikha Robinson). Jazira is upset that her father won't allow her to ride the family horse in the race. Additionally, if the prince who rides their family horse wins, she will become his wife, or in her eyes, his slave.
The next day, the great race begins. Fighting against the desert heat, Hidalgo and Hopkins are the surprise of the race as many felt the pair would give up the first day. While at another rest stop, a side plot develops in which Jazira is kidnapped. Hopkins and Hidalgo rescue her, of course.
From that moment on, Jazira and Hopkins form a special bond -- both of them feel as though they are hiding a part of themselves, which develops into one of the film's central themes. Day after day, Hidalgo and Hopkins somehow manage to survive the intense heat, sandstorms, quicksand and Lady Davenport's schemes. In the final stretches of the race only three horses -- Hidalgo, Lady Davenport's horse and the Sheikh's horse -- remain. It is an intense fight as each of the horses race for the finish line.
Viggo Mortensen is the one standout performance in this movie. Hopkins is a complicated character who struggles inwardly to accept who he is and where he comes from while fighting to win the race. His performance is intense and captivating. His performance compels the audience to feel for him and all that he has been through. At the end of the film, when his character comes to terms with who he is, his performance is enough to bring softer audience members to tears.
The story behind "Hidalgo" makes for a great movie. It combines adventure, drama, comedy and romance to create an action-packed film that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats throughout its two-hour, 21-minute duration. It is one horse ride that you don't want to miss.
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