Dreamer

Dreamer (also known as Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story) is a 2005 American sports drama film written and directed by John Gatins in his directorial debut. The film stars Kurt Russell, Kris Kristofferson, Elisabeth Shue and Dakota Fanning. It is inspired by the true story of an injured Thoroughbred racehorse named Mariah's Storm. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2005 and was theatrically released on October 21, 2005 by DreamWorks Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and earned $39.5 million on a $32 million budget. It also received a Critics' Choice Award nomination for Best Family Film. Plot Ben Crane, a horse trainer who takes his work very seriously, neglects his precocious daughter while he pours his heart into the care of the horses that he trains. Determined to make good on her father's overdue promise, Cale prods him to take her along to work and succeeds. One morning, Soñador, the horse that is to enter the race that day, refuses to leave her stall. Ben mentions that one of her legs feels warm but his boss, Palmer, tells him to get Soñador on the track. During the race, the horse falls and injures herself so badly that Palmer demands the horse be put down. Having Cale along and not wanting her to see something like this, Ben instead strikes a bargain with Palmer and becomes the owner of the wounded horse but ends up losing his job as a result. With no job and facing foreclosure on his property, he decides to breed Soñador (who is nicknamed Sonya). Sonya gets a cast on her injured leg and slowly begins to recover.