Dream Horse
Published September 17, 2021
Film info
- Title Dream Horse
- Director Euros Lyn
- Year 2020
- Run time 1hr 53m
- Genres Drama, Comedy
- Tagline Hearts will race
The true story of a village in the Welsh valleys where Jan, a supermarket cashier and barmaid, inspires her community to breed and raise a race horse. From those humble beginnings the horse, who they name 'Dream Alliance', beats all the odds and goes on to become a champion.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 2:22 | I’m so impressed Toni can do the Welsh accent. |
| 5:40 | Rage chopping the carrots. |
| 8:55 | I am concerned about the snoring, she needs to try ear plugs and/or a different room. |
| 12:17 | £300 doesn’t seem like a lot for a pedigree horse! |
| 14:53 | “It’s not much but it’s home.” |
| 18:43 | Geese are terrifying. |
| 30:17 | Naming is the hardest part. Colin! |
| 34:08 | “This driveway’s longer than our high street.” |
| 41:19 | Stacy and Dave Coaches! |
| 47:21 | “Edgy? It’s facing the wrong way.” |
| 52:56 | Allotment horse. |
| 55:16 | That Newbury race course building is awful! |
| 58:08 | I thought they were called fences and not hurdles. |
| 1:02:56 | They’ve got a playlist full of songs with Dream in the title, no doubt. |
| 1:15:55 | Jan is lovely for not being money motivated. |
| 1:26:13 | I’m writing with an update on Dream’s progress, the email said, before revealing absolutely nothing about his progress. |
| 1:35:24 | I’m not sure I knew there was a Welsh Grand National. |
Thoughts
This is one of those movies where you know what you’re getting - a low-budget, low-key, heart-felt story about some local people with a big dream overcoming hurdles and doubt and getting a good result by the end. On that side, it was brilliant, and Toni Collette really did a fantastic job as Jan - visibly lightening as the movie went on and she found a bit of spark in her life again.
On the other hand, horse-racing is awful, particularly jump races. And the film really did its best to ignore that part - no one used a whip in any of the races, even when the horse was facing the wrong way. At one point, the syndicate were arguing to let the horse race because it was in his blood and what he was born to do and in the next breath the race commentator was banging on about how reluctant and uncomfortable the horse looked. It can’t be both!
So yea, mostly a great film with a lot of heart, but left with just a minor distaste in wishing she’d gone for a different sport instead.
Rating: 4 / 5