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Hidalgo | 2004 | PG-13 | - 3.6.2

Adventure film based on the life of Frank T. Hopkins (portrayed by Viggo Mortensen): It's 1890, and a wealthy Sheik (Omar Sharif) invites Hopkins, who had been a cowboy and dispatch rider for the U.S. cavalry, to enter the Ocean of Fire horse race -- a punishing 3,000 miles across the Arabian Desert. Hopkins enters the race with his famous horse Hidalgo. Also with Zuleikha Robinson, Louise Lombard and Said Taghmaoui. Directed by Joe Johnston. [2:15]

SEX/NUDITY 3 - A woman tries to seduce a man and they get very close to kissing, but they do not. People talk about a woman being a member of a man's harem. A man accuses another man of "violating" his daughter's honor. A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage. A man makes a remark to a horse about not making sexual advances toward other horses. A man talks about standing erect and another man says, "at your age it is the only thing that might."

VIOLENCE/GORE 6 - Soldiers open fire on an unarmed group of men, women and children killing every one of them (we see the people being hit by gunfire and the dead bodies scattered on the ground). A horse falls off a sand ledge, tumbles down breaking its leg (we see the bloody leg and hear the horse whining), and its rider stabs the horse in the neck (or chest) with a knife, killing it; we hear the horse whimper and see blood spurt from the wound. Two men fight with a sword and a spear, one is knocked into a pit where he is impaled (we see him dangling on spears, with blood on his body). Raiders ride through a camp slashing people with swords, one man is beheaded (we see the head hit the ground with a thud), others are slashed across the chest, a man throws a knife that hits another man in the chest, and a man is stabbed in the stomach; also, a man shoots several men, a man stabs and slashes others, a man is hit on the head, kicked in the face, and a vase is broken over his head. A woman is taken hostage. A boy is shot and falls to the ground. A man is pierced through the chest by a spear, a man is shot repeatedly, and a man is attacked by a hawk. A man and a horse are chased by raiders on horseback, they fall into a pit and the horse is impaled, the man cuts the horse's skin to remove the spear (we see blood and the horse screams and whimpers), and he cauterizes the wound with a hot knife, as the horse whimpers and twitches. Three men walk into a camp, they are chased, and one man shoots at the men. A man fights many men with swords (we see many fall), a woman opens a door and wild cats come out and we hear them attacking a man (we hear snarling and the man yelling; the wild cats are the size of bobcats). Men are shot, a man is stabbed in the back, a man runs while being shot at, a man jumps through a roof and lands on the back of a horse, and they are being shot at while they run and jump over a wall (the man is shot in the hand and we see blood). A horse and a man collapse in the desert, the horse's nose bleeds and it whimpers, and a man loads his gun preparing to kill the horse. A horse is attacked by two wild cats, the horse stomps one cat (we see that from a distance), and one cat knocks a man to the ground. A man raises a sword over a man's neck, the man is kicked several times, he is tied around the neck with a rope, and a horse pulls the rope tightening it around the man's neck. A swarm of locusts fly toward a man and a horse, and they are soon completely covered by the bugs. A man is tied to a post and another man threatens to cut off his private parts (we see the man preparing a surgical tool). A man falls in quicksand, another man helps him out, the first man asks for his sword and it is suggested that he may have killed himself. It is suggested that horses have died during a race across a desert. A man threatens to cut a woman's head off. A man shoots at a man who shoots back at him. A wall of sand moves across a desert, men on horses try to outrun it, but many are overcome by the sand and are buried alive. A man grieves after seeing many people massacred. A man punches a man in the face and he lies on the floor unconscious, a man punches a man in the face, and a man kicks a man. A man shoves a woman. Soldiers line up to prepare to shoot a large number of wild horses (they are stopped). Men tease and taunt a horse, they jab at him with pitchforks, the horse lunges at them, another man punches one of the men, then several of them fight with punches and shoving and one is hit hard in the face with a shovel (he has a bloody nose). A man talks about his five sons having died. A man sentences his daughter to a flogging. A line of slaves (one of whom is a young boy) walk chained together. A woman is chained to a wall by the hands. A man talks about 40 men having been "roasted alive" in the desert heat. People talk about women being "drowned by their fathers." Talking about horse breeding, a man talks about a foal having to be killed before it touches the ground, as well as the male horse who sired it, if the bloodlines are not ideal. A man kicks a boy (a slave) in the buttocks a few times. People whip horses as they ride fast. A man pulls a gun to shoot a hare, when a hawk pounces on the hare and takes it away. A horse throws a man off his back and into a crowd of people. A scorpion crawls along a rock. A man eats locusts (we hear crunching) and he then feeds some to his horse.

LANGUAGE 2 - 1 anatomical term, 6 mild obscenities.

SUBSTANCE USE - People are shown drinking alcohol, one character drinks heavily, and smoking tobacco.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Battle of Wounded Knee, the oppression of Native Americans, slavery, harems, women in Arab societies and under Islamic cultures, mustangs, wild horses, perfection, honor, sacred animals, mirages, friendship.

MESSAGE - Friendship and respect are the ultimate rewards in life.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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