Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4158 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-02-13
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 105 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The title is a mouthful, but Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story hits the winner's circle as a warm and inspiring family film. Ben Crane (Kurt Russell) is a Kentucky horse trainer who watches in horror as a championship filly breaks its leg during a practice run. Ordinarily that means curtains, but today Ben's daughter, Cale (Dakota Fanning), is at the track, and Ben impulsively buys the horse and loses his job in one fell swoop.

The rehabilitation process is almost too much for a farm that's already struggling to survive in a modern economy, but the horse turns out to be a much-needed salve to the nearly broken family, including Ben's wife (Elisabeth Shue) and father (Kris Kristofferson). The cast is excellent, especially Fanning, and the film is well-paced by director-writer John Gatins and beautifully shot by cinematographer Fred Murphy. Surely the ultimate fate of the horse and the family won't surprise anyone, but young girls who love horses often don't need a surprise ending. They need a reason to cheer, and Dreamer delivers all the way.-- David Horiuchi

DVD Description
Ben Crane (Kurt Russell) was once a great horseman whose gifts as a trainer are now being wasted on making other men's fortunes. Sonador `called Sonya' was a great horse whose promising future on the racetrack is suddenly cut short by a career-ending broken leg. Considered as good as dead to her owner, who also happens to be Ben's boss, Sonya is given to Ben as severance pay, along with his walking papers.

Now, it will take the unwavering faith and determination of Ben's young daughter, Cale (Dakota Fanning), to bring these two damaged souls together in a quest for a seemingly impossible goal: to win the breeders' Cup Classic. However, the true miracle might be that, in helping this injured horse, what they are actually healing is their own family.

Special Features
'The Year of Dakota', A Filmmakers Dream, Sound bites, Trailer, B-Roll, Music Video

Customer Reviews

A great family film
I'm always on the lookout for good old fashioned family movies with no innapropriate moments that I can share with my family - and this is one of them.
However this film is better than I suspected it would be from the synopsis, and has quite a lot of emotional depth - especially in the relationships between Kurt Rusell, his father as played by Kris Kristofersen (inspired casting) and his daughter as played by Dakota Fanning (who incidentally gives a very strong performance). Dreamer neatly avoids most of the traps of sugary sweetness that characterize this type of film when made by (for example) Disney, and instead takes a fairly honest look at dysfunctional relationships, dissapointment and the hard choices which adults are forced to make which don't always make sense when seen through the eyes of children. The result is a nicely layered film which has something to offer both adults and older children. In addition both the cinematography and music are great, and the rest of the cast give strong performances, Elisabeth Shue, David Morse (who manages to do quite a lot with a little screen time) and Freddy Rodriguez (Federico from Six Feet Under). 4 stars instead of 5 only because the end is a little rushed compared to the rest of the film, but if I could give it 4.5 stars I would. Overall this is a great family film.

Absolutely Brilliant!!!
Trust me on this one, get it. You do not have to be a fan of horses to like this movie. This movie is so relevant to real life (by the way it is based on a true story) it shows that everyone needs a chance. A trainer took a chance on a horse that was about to be put down, on the surface it looked like a foolish decision but he chose to follow his heart. In nursing the horse back to health the filly became a tool in healing his wounded family. The star of the film is young Cale, she demonstrates that passion and determination can help you achieve great things regardless of your age.This film shows that all things are indeed possible, with faith, love and some gutsy peseverance.

a horsey tail with a happy ending
Dreamer is inspired by a true story, i was hooked from the opening credits!! i love true stories and when there combined with horses im in my element. soniador a well bred race horse is the centre of our heart warming story, following a tragic accident on the racetrack she is rescued by kurt russells character. Dekota Fanning plays russels daughter and strikes up a bond with this pretty young mare. I wont spoil the story but i will say the road to salvation has many twists, For such a young actress dekota deliveries a very mature performance, i feel at times she definately out shone her adult counter parts. tear jerker - must see for all horse lovers out there!!!