Topic: Hidalgo

[Touti]

Where do I start........

I was a bit surprised by this movie because I didn't read the overview before watching and I had never heard of it when I bought it.  I saw "Vigo Mortensen" on the cover and since he was so good in LOTR I thought it couldn't be totally unintesting.

Obviously I was quite surprised last night after a few minutes of viewing when I realized that "Hildago" is the name of a horse and not of a person as I had thought.  I was a bit more surprised when I figured out that this was gonna be about a horse race and then I thought my evening was pretty much wasted but surpringly (I know, that's a lot of surprises in on paragraph) I got caught into it and actually really enjoyed it.

Not at all what I expected but over all still a nice movie.

[Najemikon]

I enjoyed it to, Touti, though the truth of the story seems impossible to determine.

It's similar in some ways to Bite the Bullet, being about horses and racing them. That's a great movie, if a bit daft in places, lifted a few notches just by starring Gene Hackman. Check it out here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072705/

I would never have bothered with it, but my mum watched Hidalgo and remembered a vague film and I managed to track it down. Glad I did!

[SailorRipley]

Well, I've never seen this movie but the girl I'm dating apparently hates it with a passion. She says it's because of the huge Arab stereotype running around through the movie, portraying them as dumb.

Did you guys feel anything like that while watching it?

(And I agree about Bite the Bullet being one hell of a cool movie).

[Touti]

I didn't have that feeling of any stereotype.  It depicts the arab culture as it was and probably still is.  People who love their horses as much as they do their women but actually give them more freedom.  Granted that it's not the way of the occidentals, that doesn't mean it's automatically stereotyped.

But then I've never been in any arab country so I'm not sure I would see it if it was.  I guess you're gonna have to watch it yourself and make your own opinion.

[Najemikon]

I agree with Touti, but I would also open a potentially thorny can of worms (is that even possible?). In the right hands, to stereotypes! 

Movies designed for pure entertainment delve deeply into stereotypes. Spielberg's Nazi, Ford's Indian, Bay's East-European terrorist (the ones with bleached spiky hair, little round sunglasses, shooting things while Wagner plays in the background), also seen in Die Hard, etc. I'm stretching with the last one, but you get my drift.

Hidalgo doesn't aim for pure entertainment. It's a bit weak in places, but it has the heart of a drama. However, as I alluded to before, the true story of Frank Hopkins is up for serious debate. The writer smoothed over the murkier bits of his character and could be accused of employing stereotypes so that it stays smooth for other characters. Basically the only other characters are horses and Arabs.

It isn't blatant, but in reducing ambiguity in a basic 'fish out of water' story, both the fish and the characters in his new world are going to appear stereotypical even when it isn't intentional. This would be a serious complaint in Lawrence of Arabia, but you don't watch Hidalgo for the same reasons.

"Dumb" is a bit strong in any case. Is this girl hot? She sounds like trouble. Heck, any woman with an opinion is trouble. Oops, did I say that out loud? 

I'm kidding, of course. I'm 32 in a couple of weeks and still single. I'm not even allowed an opinion!

[SailorRipley]

Thanks for your response, Touti & Jon! Well, I would be lying if I say I'm not bothered by stereotypes, especially when they are of the racial kind. However, I try to keep my mind open (otherwise it would be impossible for me to enjoy, say, the Indiana Jones films, which I love). I've been curious about this movie from some time now, but not in a particular big way, mind you.

Is this girl hot? She sounds like trouble. Heck, any woman with an opinion is trouble. Oops, did I say that out loud? 

  Well, between you and me, yup, she's a lot of trouble, but in the nicest, possible way you can imagine. But heed my advice, every woman's opinion is just a diamond waiting to be found, so I usually cherish her line of thought.

Is she hot? Oh my good friend, you have NO idea!