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Rating: I remember the summer when "Seabiscuit" hit the theaters, it was insanely hot and not a soul was around in the city, I was the only one at the cinema.
I heard about this little horse from my grandfather, "He won them all!" he would say, and his story intrigued me; then years later, I saw the film trailer on TV: "Seabiscuit", I had to absolutely go see it.
I believe it is one of the most underrated films in the history of cinema, a lost pearl at the bottom of the ocean, unfortunately unlucky to be scheduled in the summer, when everyone is on vacation and only the crazy ones go to the cinema.
Poorly advertised and screened, "Seabiscuit" did not have the fortune that it, in my opinion, deserved.
Great direction, beautiful sets, and excellent cinematography, not to mention Tobey Maguire's performance, who swapped his Spider-Man costume for jockey attire.
It’s the true story of "a horse too small to run and a jockey too tall to ride." Seabiscuit was used as a training horse for thoroughbreds, his job was to get overtaken and lose. He was very small, nearly half the size of a racehorse, spending his days in long naps on the grass and grazing; with a nervous and proud nature, that little horse would never let anyone walk all over him.
Elsewhere, there’s a man (Jeff Bridges) who, starting by fixing bicycles by chance, becomes in a few years one of the greatest entrepreneurs in the American automotive sector; business was booming until a tragic accident took his son away from him.
He divorces his wife and decides to leave the automotive sector forever. A few years later, fate leads him to the racetrack, and he falls in love with that world. He wanted to start again and had an idea: "buy a horse and win!"
In his search, he meets an old stableman (Chris Cooper), and a phrase will immerse you and make you fall hopelessly in love with this film: "You don’t just get rid of something because it has a few little flaws," he was treating an injured mare destined for the slaughterhouse.
The entrepreneur was struck by those words and proposed to help him with his project.
The research was quicker and simpler than expected because the man was mesmerized by an angry black horse, a beast of great personality and character, he wanted him at all costs, even against the stableman's advice, he saw something in him... and he saw the same thing a few meters from the horse, a young man was fighting with a group of boys who were bothering him, here a beautiful horse-jockey parallelism that the director was able to blend in a delicate and moving way. The entrepreneur believed in signs of destiny, Red would be Seabiscuit’s jockey.
After a critical period, the two found harmony, balance, and FRIENDSHIP, creating a magical and special bond between them, and the story flows fast and exciting, rich with twists and turns.
I want to stop here with the plot because I hope I’ve piqued your interest and convinced you; I’ll just say that I haven’t told anything yet and the good stuff happens later...
Seabiscuit is the story of a horse that lifted an entire nation's spirits during the Great Depression; with his astonishing victories, he was an example to everyone, proving that nothing is impossible. When he raced, there was an eerie silence in the streets, everyone stopped to listen to the radio and follow his new miracle.
It is a clean film, shot in a dynamic and essential way, having its buildup and then exploding all at once, with beautiful dialogues and actor performances. At a certain point, you are so engulfed in the story that everything around disappears; it is all-encompassing in every way.
A successful portrayal for Drugo Lebowski Jeff Bridges in the role of the entrepreneur, Chriss Cooper, and Maguire impeccable.
It is really a shame it didn’t receive the fortune it deserved, destined for a niche audience, and even the DVD is hard to find.
An interesting fact is that you will find the original and full footage of the great match with War Admiral in the special features, a perfect choice to show that Seabiscuit’s story isn’t that embellished, and his stature was truly different compared to a racehorse.
Unfortunately, I can’t tell you more because I’ve been warned for revealing the ending in other reviews, and it’s right that you discover it yourselves, but I guarantee you won’t regret it; for those who love cinema, this is a gem to be added to your cinematic-cultural heritage, keeping you as tense as a violin string, hypnotized by the racing scenes, cradling you in the bucolic atmospheres of the prairies, and filling you with adrenaline in the finale.
Enjoy the show.
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