Hidalgo

The advertising says that the film Hidalgo is based on the true story of Frank T Hopkins a half-Indian endurance rider who won a 3,000 mile endurance race across the Arabian desert in 1890 on a mustang named Hidalgo and went on to become a vocal activist for the preservation of the mustang breed. This statement is true, but that is about as far as the film goes in keeping with reality. The film is a melodramatic mishmash of all of the major themes of any action/adventure. Viggo Mortensen is game enough playing the little Westerner that could, but the character lacks depth and direction.

As with most time period movies this one has to have a somewhat tragic hero who has to rediscover himself in the native peoples of this, or another, land when he loses faith in humanity and himself. In this way the film very much resembles The Last Samurai. Both feature men who watch, or partake in, Indian massacres. In this instance Frank Hopkins is a message carrier who brings the orders for the massacre at Wounded Knee. The hero then takes to drinking heavily to escape himself and his past. In this case Frank joins Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show as an exhibit of both a world famous endurance rider and of the mustangs that he rose and bred. Then suddenly someone arises to whisk him off to a foreign land where he can rediscover himself. Here Frank is offered the opportunity to ride in an endurance ride through the Arabian Desert in Iraq and Syria to Damascus in a 3000 mile endurance race against a bunch of pure bred Arabian horses. In The Last of the Samurai Tom Cruise is sent to Japan to modernize their army, but for both they get much more than they bargained for, interacting with the local culture and rediscovering that they are heroes. Of course the actual Frank T. Hopkins thoroughly enjoyed performing in the Buffalo Bill show and continued to do so for a very long time.

Now because this is a true story there are certain features that I do admire. The mustang is a small built horse that rode wild on the plains of North America after they were introduced by the Spaniards. This means that Viggo Mortensen spends most of his time looking up at his opponents since he is riding the smallest horse in the race. This is a refreshing change from the theory that heroes are larger than life and larger than there opponents and turns it into a David and Goliath battle of the hardy American against the desert. The one thing that is true that seems built for a movie is that Frank Hopkins is the son of a white military man and an Indian princess. This seems to be a common theme with half-breed movie stereotypes which leads me to the question, how many Indian princesses were there in the Old West? It seems that an entire generation of heroes sprang from such unities with an Indian princess behind every tree.

Of course there is very little about the race itself that rings true in this film. There is no evidence that Frank Hopkins ever befriended a Bedouin princess and rescued her from an evil uncle bent on obtaining his birthright. Nor was there evidence of significant conniving and foul play. The desert was more than enough adversary casting dust storms and killing horses and riders. In reality Hidalgo was one of only five horses to finish the Arabian Desert race and he beat out the other horses by 33 hours or more. Of course the movie wouldn’t be a movie without a near photo finish to give the movie a climax. Winning by more than a day seems almost unsportsmanlike in movie rules.

The one thing I felt was sympathy for the poor Hidalgo, he had to partake in the rescue of the princess on his day off, race through the desert after a long day only to get a spear through the leg. Right after that he is attacked by vicious cats and lies perfectly still while his wound is cauterized. Also there is the near death experience followed swiftly by an all out gallop to the finish. You would learn the facts, but the movie tends toward the melodramatic in excess.

Overall this was a fun movie. The film seemed purposely grainy perhaps to mimic the graininess of the desert. The plot itself of an underdog American and his mutt of a mustang against the Arab sheik and his pureblood Arabian stallion would be enough of a story without all of the bells and whistles. Instead it adds color and humor, when an Arab says ‘Blessings be upon thee.’ The American answers ‘You too partner’. The result is simply hokey.