Where I live it is cold and snowy, with freezing temperatures likely to remain for many weeks to come. I can’t go anywhere to escape the winter, so I’m going to rely on the power of Touchstone Pictures to take me on a trip somewhere warm.
February is ‘Globetrotters Month’ on ‘Touchstone and Beyond’. Our first destination brings us to the hot sands of the Middle East as we ride with Viggo Mortensen in his 2004 historical drama, Hidalgo.
The Plot
Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen) is a champion long distance rider at the turn of the twentieth century. As dispatch rider for the US Army, Hopkins is present at the massacre of Wounded Knee and flees for the anonymity of Buffalo Bill’s (J.K. Simmons) Wild West Show. Haunted by the senseless murder of so many, Hopkins spends his times between shows drinking and coming to terms with the horror he witnessed.
When goaded into participating in an endurance race in the Middle East, Hopkins and his trusted horse Hidalgo set sail out of America. The Ocean of Fire race has been billed as the most difficult and competitive long distance race any rider and horse could compete in. Hopkins and Hidalgo are looked down upon by their fellow riders.
The organizer of the race, Sheikh Riyadh (Omar Sharif) cares little for the American interloper and believes like all the rest that Hopkins and his mustang horse will die in the desert. Not until a raiding party kidnaps his daughter Jazira (Zuleikha Robinson) does the Sheikh come to accept Hopkins. Frank leads a rescue mission and frees Jazira. When the race restarts, Frank is wondering what he and Hidalgo are doing so far from home.
As the race continues and the riders drop out from exhaustion or death, Hopkins is left in a three-way race to the finish. While Frank Hopkins is hoping for victory, this race has helped the broken man find peace within himself, and a new start in the world.
Cinematic Compliments
Viggo Mortensen is excellent as Frank Hopkins. He not only shines at being the tough guy when needed, but Mortensen brings skill and talent at portraying such a complicated character. As a viewer you believe Mortensen and you empathize with the emotion that he brings. Frank Hopkins lives in a changing world, where he feels the need to deny his heritage to survive. That denial and witnessing the slaughter at Wounded Knee has created a shattered psyche that Viggo Mortensen builds to perfection as Frank.
The horses that played Hidalgo are some of the best. When the movie focuses on the direct conversations that Hopkins has with Hidalgo, the horse brings a sense of comic joy that many human actors struggle to show.
Jazira and Frank’s relationship was portrayed well. I particularly like that they didn’t kiss at the end of the film. At the conclusion of the race we could have seen the long kiss between the two, as many other films have done, but they kept their distance, and the most revealing part of the relationship was Jazira showing her face to Frank.
The presentation of the two different cultures on screen was done exceptionally well. Native Americans were given a proper representation and I particularly like the fact that what we saw on the screen was filmed based on detailed consultation with Lakota First Nations. Hidalgo also represented Muslims in a positive light that didn’t play up stereotypes about the culture and portrayed them as regular people. In 2004, this was not the average way Muslims were represented on screen.
Seeing Omar Sharif swing a sword when raiders invade the camp was thrilling. I kept waiting for him to be killed, and what a pleasant surprise to see this screen icon kick some butt in the desert. Sharif looks like he has a lot of fun during the fight scene.
Cinematic Complaints
I feel like Hidalgo isn’t sure what type of movie it wants to be. At first, we meet Hopkins and see this broken man who is hiding from his past in Buffalo Bill’s show and drinking most of his time. With little hesitation or motive, he is easily persuaded to join the Ocean of Fire race on the other side of the world. We don’t get to see definitive reasons why he would risk his life for this unknown race.
Once we get to the Middle East the film picks up and the race starts showing the struggle that the riders endure. In the middle of this straight-forward horse race, the movie switches gears and Frank Hopkins leads a rescue mission for Jazira. One moment we are watching these tired riders trekking through the desert, and then we are thrown into a long scene that belongs more in Indiana Jones than Hidalgo.
The title of the film is Hidalgo and I was hoping to get more of a relationship between Hopkins and the horse, but I felt like the film cut those moments too short and didn’t play them up as much as they could have.
Louise Lombard is great as Lady Anne Davenport, but the film didn’t need the subplot of her trying to win the race so that she could have the breeding rights to the Sheikh’s prized horse.
Fun Film Facts
- Five different horses played Hidalgo.
- One of those horses named TJ was purchased by Viggo Mortensen when production concluded.
- The massacre at Wounded Knee, which starts the film, shows the realistic death of chief Big Foot. The unnatural pose we see on film was based on photos that were taken of the murdered chief.
- Hidalgo was released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner at theatres but was switched to the Touchstone Label for DVD release.
- During the locust scene just over a hundred real locusts were used while the rest were either computer generated, or props.
- While the movie is based on the memoirs of the real Frank Hopkins, who wrote about racing and winning the Ocean of Fire, the validity of his story has been questionable.
- The government of Saudi Arabia claims there has never been an Ocean of Fire race.
- Multiple Lakota historians and tribal leaders were consulted on the film and consulted with the film crew during production on every scene that involved their culture.
- Historians differ over the truth about Hopkin’s success, Lakota filmmaker Angelique Midthunder described how the story of Hidalgo and Hopkins has been taught to children of northern plains tribes for generations.
- According to Mortensen, he is related to Buffalo Bill Cody on his mother’s side of the family.
- Malcolm McDowell has an uncredited role as Major Davenport.
- The first trailer premiered in theatres with The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in 2002.
- Viggo Mortensen is fluent in Spanish and voiced himself in the Spanish language version of the movie.
- The idea for the film came to screenwriter John Fusco while he was researching for the Val Kilmer movie Thunderheart. While living on the Pine Ridge reservation working on the Thunderheart script, Fusco heard stories about Hidalgo from a chief.
The Golden Popcorn Bucket Award
Hidalgo was enjoyable but it didn’t have an impact on me. Truthfully, I am not sure if I liked it or disliked it. The movie is fun, but I felt like it was inconsistent and struggled to find its identity.
Hidalgo gets a 2 on the Golden Popcorn Bucket rating scale.
Coming Attractions
From the life and death struggle in the desert with Hidalgo, we are going to catch a plane for a different locale. Sunny weather, beach views and jungle terrains with Harrison Ford and Anne Heche in Six Days, Seven Nights. Fasten your seat belts, it might be a bumpy ride.
Production Credits
Directed by Joe Johnston
Produced by Touchstone Pictures
Starring:
- Viggo Mortensen as Frank Hopkins
- Omar Sharif as Sheikh Riyadh
- Zuleikha Robinson as Jazira
- J.K. Simmons as Buffalo Bill Cody
- Louise Lombard as Lady Anne Davenport
Release Date: March 5, 2004
Budget: $100 million
Box Office Gross
Domestic: $67,303,450
Worldwide Total: $108,040,622