Hard to believe this movie is 15 years old, it looks so fresh. I'd say it again and again: nothings beats live photography. It's a great tale of adventure, friendship and will power that get's an extra point for not having a cheesy romance on top of it. And it is family friendly. Should have watched this way earlier.

Your run of the mill "based on a true story" romanticized Hollywood semi-fiction. Vigo Mortensen makes for a convincingly dedicated cowboy in this fish-out-of-water document of an endurance race across the middle east, but can't quite turn the role into anything more substantial than a simple caricature of wild western perseverance. Far too much effort is wasted on the personification of his horse, the titular mustang Hidalgo, who all but opens his mouth and speaks by the time the film is through. Part exaggerated Disney epic and part family-friendly adventure, it's predictable and inoffensive - good for a few breathtaking landscapes and a thick, obvious underlying moral.