Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (2005)

I screened Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story on August 23rd in Washington DC. This beautiful film, a Truly Moving Picture, teaches children that they can achieve their goals despite any obstacles that may stand in their way.

Set in Lexington, Kentucky, this is a story about perseverance and empowerment in the face of hardship. Cale Crane (Dakota Fanning) dreams of having a race horse on her father's farm again. Although the family does not have enough money to purchase a new horse, Cale's father Ben Crane (Kurt Russell) acquires an injured racehorse named Sonador, the Spanish word for "dreamer."

The story that ensues encourages all children to reach high. Despite their economic setbacks, everyone on the Crane farm believes that they can nurse Sonador back to health. Although there are age and cultural differences among the family members and farm workers, they all find inspiration in Cale's unwavering determination. While working towards the goal of healing their injured horse, broken relationships within the family are healed.

In addition to providing an inspirational message, this film also succeeds in vividly depicting a rural lifestyle in which horses and people are closely connected. Children who view this movie can learn about the deep bonds between animals and humans.

Because of the positive messages this film exudes, it has been chosen as the upcoming featured film for a new joint project between the National Collaboration for Youth and Heartland Truly Moving Pictures. The exciting project, F.I.L.M. (an acronym for "Finding Inspiration in Movies and Literature") includes a three step process in which children screen select films, use activity guides for each film, and then partake in service learning projects.

Fmovies: An uplifting, heartwarming movie...inspires one to dream and dream big. It's a must see, especially for the lovers of horses. Rivals the Horse Whisperer as my favorite movie revolving around horses. Kurt Russell is great, as always. Dakota Fanning is a very special young actress, perhaps a greater talent at her age than Drew Barrymore. Kris Kristofferson play his usual gritty character. And last but not least, it's great to see Elisabeth Shue on the silver screen again. She is a natural beauty and a great actress. The movie is very timely in that it involves the Breeder's Cup, which, at the time of this writing, is coming up this weekend. It's a movie for all ages, and if it comes out on DVD before Christmas, it'll make a wonderful gift.

I saw this film on September 13th in Indianapolis. I am one of the judges for the Heartland Film Festival that screens films for their Truly Moving Picture Award. A Truly Moving Picture "Â…explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life." Heartland gave that award to this film.

The setting is the beautiful horse country around Lexington, KY. A dysfunctional horse family falls on hard times. The family includes a grandfather (Kris Kristofferson), a son (Kurt Russell), his wife (Elisabeth Shue), and their daughter (Dakota Fanning). The son is a horse trainer and loses his job abruptly and takes with him a badly injured horse to his shrunken, empty, rundown horse farm.

Just as the horse, Sonador, which is Spanish for Dreamer, struggles to become healthy, the family also struggles to become a caring, loving unit again. The indomitable spirit of the daughter as she cares for the horse forces the family to confront their problems. And ultimately they do face their problems with courage, spirit and even heroism.

The acting in this movie by the family members was superb. But Dakota Fanning deserves a special mention. It seems once a generation there is an outstanding child actor that is believable. She is this generation's child actor.

The cinematography and music score are outstanding. The horse country comes alive and you begin to understand why "Â…the sport of kingsÂ…" becomes many people's profession.

FYI – There is a Truly Moving Pictures web site where there is a listing of past winners going back 70 years.

Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story fmovies. I was lucky enough to be able to preview this film on October 6, in Greenville, SC with my wife. While I had seen the previews several months ago for this film and thought it looked pretty good, I went in thinking it would be just another "chick flick". I was wrong. The story-telling was superb and very rarely dragged along, holding the attention well (I never looked at my watch). The acting was very good from all involved and Dakota is cute as ever. The drama was riveting without being over done or heavy-handed. All in all this film is a winner (no puns intended) and great for people of all ages (and genders).

My wife dragged me to this movie and I kinda thought I might enjoy it, so, I didn't fight it too much. Once the movie started and I got into the plot, I was hooked. My wife started crying within the first 15 minutes and she didn't stop until we walked out of the theater!!! It was the good kind of crying... not bad!!! Take the WHOLE family to the classic Disney type story!!! If you have any ability to follow how these types of movies go, then you will know the outcome long before it happens... it doesn't matter because you'll be wanting that outcome and you'll embrace it when it happens!!! Good acting, as always, from Kurt Russell and even Kris Kristofferson showed some range. Young Dakota Fanning has to be one of the most talented actresses of our time!! I could never see her as a 'child actor'... she an actress that just happens to be a child!!! GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!! You won't be sorry!!

The premise of this movie is so similar to 2003's Seabiscuit, you'd think you're watching yet another biography of a real horse in some extraordinary, inspiring film that might just make you want to head down to the nearest race course and observe a real race.

But Dreamer (or Sonador as the horse is named) takes a slightly different angle in this tale about second chances and comebacks. If compared to Seabiscuit, yes, we have a horse with great potential faced with the troubles of breaking a leg during a competitive race. As with all race horses, this means instant death, as they have no future value, and are bred for the sole purpose of racing.

We also have a superb trainer, Ben Crane, played by Kurt Russell, and the doctor (Holmes Osborne), the written-off jockey (Freddy Rodriguez), the stable-hand (Luis Guzman), etc. But here's where the similarities end. Dreamer is a more personal film, with family friendly characters, like the daughter (Dakota Fanning), the wife (Elizabeth Shue), and the grandfather (Kris Kristofferson). Nursing the horse back to health had actually brought the family closer together, and that in itself makes this film quite cliché in its many "been-there-done-that" before moments to touch.

Dakota Fanning has held her own against "father-figure" heavyweights like Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington, and Tom Cruise, though many would have pointed out that she had rivaled Naomi Watts for the 2005 Scream Queen honors with her performance in War of the Worlds. Here, Fanning has returned to more credible acting, albeit in a safer role.

Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story, is a heartwarming tale about believing in oneself, having dreams, believing that you can achieve, and take action to achieve those dreams. While watching the movie, I can't help but chuckle at the parallels in seeing how my team and I are sticking together, just like those characters, in wanting to see our dream of making a short film, and entering it into competitions (in this case, the Breeder's Cup) come to a reality.

It's that kind of film, an inspiring one. It might be clichéd, the premise might be too good to be true, but hey, success might come to those who dare to dream, believe, and more importantly, do.