11. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
This film surprised the hell out of me.
I knew about this film from commercials I had seen from when I was a kid but I never got around to seeing it. Maybe seeing the horse movie wasn’t within my interest at the time. Big mistake. This film is a masterpiece of work.
You don’t really expect too much from it at the start. It begins like a lot of whimsical films with big orchestral pieces start but then as it goes on you see how well crafted it is via vocal tracks that BELT OUT how strong and powerful the vibes are here. It can probably be construed as emotionally manipulative to some but it really does mostly work here. What helps is the fact that the horses don’t speak.
That’s not to say this is a silent movie. It’s not. There are occasional bouts of narration from Spirit that come in from overhead every now and again but it doesn’t happen a ton. It relies on the audience to be smart enough to tell what’s happening without pulling a “Walking with Dinosaurs” and ruining the film with overbearing and constant voice overs (or so I’ve heard. I’ve never actually seen that film but you get my point).
This film was truly a roller coaster ride though. There’s never a moment where you don’t fear for this horse as he goes through the wringer to win back his freedom after he deals with being held in captivity. There are both sides to the equation explored here from the settlers who try to BREAK their horses with intimidation, guns, ropes, and whatnot.
Then there are the natives who treat them with kindness and like friends. Obviously, you’re more on the native’s side here but the film, and in turn Spirit, never backs down from what HE truly wants, which is to be free and amongst his herd again. Even when he does get around to forming a relationship with the kind native he met, it ends up leading to a heartfelt goodbye in a manner that was both rewarding and got me to do the happy ugly cry.
When you get me to do the happy ugly cry, you’re going to the top of the list. I’m sorry, Prince of Egypt. Perhaps you're the better film and I did tear up when I watched you but the happy ugly cry is another beast entirely and this horse movie got that out of me.
The opening of the film did slightly worry me a bit. The CGI used for the landscapes and the horses isn’t bad. It’s extremely fluid and well done for the time but it did have me slightly worried. That disappeared rather quickly though as it basically took me on a ride that made that irrelevant.
It can’t be stated enough just how suspenseful this film is.
The anxiety I had watching this horse and some of the other horses fight to survive the obstacles and challenges they do in this film was intense and crazy. It was epic. It was awesome! It got the heart pumping! I literally jumped when a train almost crushed my guy at one point in the film! You don’t expect this film to be epic but they made damn sure that the freedom Spirit was fighting to win back was worth it.
The film was great and it just got better and better as it went along but the thing that catapulted it to the top (at the time of me writing this at least) really was the ending. Not just how good it feels when it happens but the way the name of the film and the character is FINALLY dropped and done so in a way where it felt as if it couldn't have happened any other way.
It’s masterful. It’s wonderful. It’s a film that can not be broken.
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1 month, 2 weeks ago
19 Apr 2025 01:46 CEST
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