Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (2005)

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

Director:

John Gatins

Writer:

John Gatins

Stars:

Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Oded Fehr

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Badrani	...	Prince Tariq (as Antonio Albadran)
John Moyer	...	Security Officer
Kayren Butler	...	Teacher
Tommy Barnes	...	Short Steward
Frank Hoyt Taylor	...	Chairman

Storyline

Ben Crane believes that a severely injured racehorse deserves another chance. He and his daughter Cale adopt the horse (in fact is a mare)and save it of being sacrificed by the owner. The arrival of the mare to Crane's farm, will be the perfect opportunity for both father and daughter to reconstruct their lost familiar bond. "Soñador" (Dreamer in English), the renamed mare, despite its broken leg, maybe could have another chance to return to the racecourse, with the help of Cale, Ben, and his father, Pop.

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Plot Keywords:

racehorse | kentucky | horse racing | based on true story | horse movie | 

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for brief mild language

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Soñador is considered for the Breeder's Cup, Prince Sadir says that his horse "Rapid Cat is sired by Storm Cat, the best sire in the world." Mariah's Storm (on whom Soñador is based) was bred to Storm Cat.

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Goofs

Near the beginning of the movie when the vet has finished his examination, Ben is shown holding an x-ray which the vet says is the one from the track and he says it confirms his x-rays of a spiral fracture of the cannon bone. Also Ben tells Cale that it is 'non-displaced', however this x-ray clearly shows a displaced fracture of the radius bone from the knee up about five inches long (all x-rays are life size). The cannon bone (also called the metacarpus) is below the knee joint. The x-ray is also clearly marked with an 'L' meaning 'Left', but all scenes of the horse with the cast show it on the right front leg.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Cale Crane: There used to be horses in that barn. At least, that's what my Grandfather says. We're probably the only horse farm in Lexington, Kentucky, that doesn't have one horse. Not one.

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Connections

Referenced in Hamlet 2 (2008)

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Soundtracks

Dreamer
Written by Bethany Dillon and Ed Cash
Performed by Bethany Dillon
Bethany Dillon appears courtesy of Sparrow Records
By Arrangement with EMI Film & TV Music

User Reviews

Not Exactly True, But A Wonderful Inspired Story

Well, I just got through watching this much-anticipated film (by me) and it didn't disappoint except for one thing: I thought it was a true story. I didn't play close enough attention to the word "inspired" in the title because, unlike the story of Seabiscuit, this isn't what really happened.

It's based on a nice comeback story a real racehorse, Mariah's Storm, which did make a great comeback from a serious injury but not to the extent of what happens here in this movie. This was exaggerated to the hilt for dramatic purposes, but that's okay once you know that because the story is, indeed, "inspirational."

Most important, this is about as nice a modern-day film as you will ever find. There's nary a swear word, hardly even a raised voice. There are nice characters and a sweet, family-friendly tone to it with a tear-in-your-eyes Seabiscuit-type tale and ending.

Dakota Fanning once again demonstrates why she is the greatest child actor of her generation. Kurt Russell is excellent, too. Ole Kurt must be mellowing these days playing subdued nice guys like this. It's good to see. The same goes for Elisabeth Shue. This is a far cry from her role in Leaving Las Vegas. Even Kris Kristofferson holds his tongue in this film! Amazing.

Like Seabiscuit, this also is beautifully filmed. I wonder if any sport is filmed and is just surrounded by all this beauty in real-life, too, like horse racing? It IS "the sport of kings." There is some spectacular scenery in here, much of it in Kentucky and where better to be when filming a horse racing story?

So, if you and your kids - or just you - want to settle in for nice film, and you're looking for a pleasing, nice-looking, feel-good story you absolutely cannot miss with this film. Very highly recommended.

Details

Official Sites:

Dreamworks Official site [Russia]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Kurt Russell/Dakota Fanning Project

Filming Locations:

Folsom, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$32,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,178,233, 23 October 2005

Gross USA:

$32,751,093

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$38,741,732

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, Hyde Park Entertainment, Tollin/Robbins Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1