Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (2005)

Director:

John Gatins

Writer (WGA):

John Gatins (written by)

Release Date:

21 October 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Sport

Plot:

Cale Crane catalyzes the rescue and rehabilitation of Sonador, a race horse with a broken leg.

Plot Keywords:

Kentucky | True Story | Horse | Horse Racing | Father Daughter Relationship

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Kurt Russell	...	Ben Crane
Dakota Fanning	...	Cale Crane
Kris Kristofferson	...	Pop Crane
Elisabeth Shue	...	Lily
David Morse	...	Palmer
Freddy Rodríguez	...	Manolin
Luis Guzmán	...	Balon
Oded Fehr	...	Prince Sadir
Ken Howard	...	Bill Ford
Holmes Osborne	...	Doc Fleming
Antonio Albadran	...	Prince Tariq
John Moyer	...	Security Officer
Kayren Butler	...	Teacher
Tommy Barnes	...	Short Steward
Frank Hoyt Taylor	...	Chairman

Also Known As:

Dreamer (Australia) (TV title)
Untitled Kurt Russell/Dakota Fanning Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief mild language.

Runtime:

106 min | Canada:98 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:G (all jurisdictions) | Ireland:PG | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-7 | Netherlands:MG6 | Argentina:Atp | Germany:o.Al. | Portugal:M/6 | USA:PG (certificate #41758) | Malaysia:U | Australia:PG | South Korea:All

Filming Locations:

Frankfort, Kentucky, USA

Company:

S.K.G. Productions LLC

Trivia:

The movie was loosely inspired by the story of the mare Mariah's Storm. She was a promising filly who was being pointed towards the Breeder's Cup Juvenile Fillies in 1993 but then broke her cannon bone. She recovered and later won some graded races. She started in the 1995 Breeder's Cup Distaff and finished ninth. She was owned by Thunderhead Farms and trained by Don Von Hemel. She's now known mostly for being the dam of Giant's Causeway.

Goofs:

Continuity: After acquiring the injured horse, Ben is going to take the horse back to his farm. When the truck is shown pulling up to the stable, there is obviously no trailer; however, in the next scenes, the red trailer is shown hooked up to the truck.

Quotes:

Ben Crane: I read your story.
Cale Crane: The stupid one about the king?
Ben Crane: Yeah, the one about the stupid king.
[pause]
Ben Crane: Look... I make mistakes sometimes, too, Cale.
Cale Crane: [pause] So you like the stupid king?
Ben Crane: Yeah. I like the stupid king.
Cale Crane: I LOVE the stupid king.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 'War of the Worlds': Characters - The Family Unit (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Dreamer

A Nutshell Review: Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story

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.