and a throwback to the time of John Wayne Westerns, where people did what they did for the right reasons and not for power and glory.
This movie has just a hint of darkness, as in the conversation between Bill Cody and the Chief who asked Cody to rescue the mustangs. But for the most part, it was full of light. A story of personal redemption for a man who felt more than guilty for seeing the wrongs that were happening yet chose to say and do nothing.
Only one thing bothered me about the film -- I think at times Hildalgo looks at Hopkins with eyes that were perhaps computer-effected.
I know that the story was an exaggeration, but it did not matter. It reminded me of the Tall Tales of Paul Bunyan, or Davy Crockett, or Daniel Boone. Did we ever question their "truthfulness."
I am tired of the cynical sophisticates who takes all joy out of life in the name of art and reallity. Is reallity television more real than Hidalgo. The reallity is that we need stories and myths to give power and meaning to our lives. When Hopkins accepted that truth, he was empowered and strengthened enough to finish the race.
In choosing to accept the reallity of Hidalgo, I am accepting although temporarily that myth has power and meaning.