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''Hidalgo'' is a 2004 biographical western film based on the legend of the American distance rider Frank Hopkins and his mustang Hidalgo. It recounts Hopkins' racing his horse in Arabia in 1891 against Bedouins riding pure-blooded Arabian horses. The movie was written by John Fusco and directed by Joe Johnston. It stars Viggo Mortensen, Zuleikha Robinson, and Omar Sharif. ==Plot summary== In 1891, American Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen) and his mustang, Hidalgo, are part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, where they are advertised as "the world's greatest distance horse and rider". Hopkins had been a famous distance rider, a cowboy, and a dispatch rider for the United States government; in the latter capacity he carried a message to the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment authorizing the Wounded Knee Massacre of Lakota Sioux. Wealthy Sheikh Riyadh (Omar Sharif) has sent his attaché Aziz (Adam Alexi-Malle) to ask the show to either stop using the phrase "the world's greatest distance horse and rider" or allow Hopkins and Hidalgo to prove themselves by entering the Middle Eastern "Ocean of Fire" race: an annual 3,000-mile survival race across the Najd desert region. The Sheikh is custodian of the ''al-Khamsa'' line, considered to be the greatest distance horses in the world, and traditionally the race has been restricted to pure-bred Arabian horses and Bedouin or Arab riders. In addition to the grueling conditions, prevailing animosity and contempt for an infidel and “impure” horse, horse and rider face stiff competition, including the wealthy and unscrupulous British horse breeder Lady Anne Davenport (Louise Lombard). To complicate matters, Sheikh Riyadh has promised his daughter Jazira (Zuleikha Robinson), his only surviving child, in marriage to the rider of his horse, should he win. She hopes to prevent this by giving Hopkins advice and information to help him win, thereby resulting in greater danger for them both. Sheikh Riyadh's outcast brigand nephew, who will stop at nothing to gain control of the al-Khamsa line, raids the race camp, kidnaps Jazira, and threatens to kill her unless he gets his uncle's prize stallion racer as her ransom. Hopkins manages to rescue Jazira. However, Davenport and the Sheikh's nephew try to sabotage the race by eliminating the rival riders, but are thwarted when Hopkins kills the nephew. For Hopkins the Ocean of Fire becomes not only a matter of pride, honor and survival, but of identity as well: it emerges that his father was European American while his mother was Lakota Sioux. The Lakota call him “Blue Child” or “Far Rider.” As a half-breed he feels sympathy and pity for his mother's people, but does not generally reveal his heritage, especially after the Wounded Knee massacre, for which he feels partly responsible. Jazira compares his relation to his heritage to her desire to avoid wearing the veil, saying that he mustn't "go through life hiding what God made you.... like me." Nearing the end of the race, Hidalgo is severely injured and Hopkins is dying of thirst; hallucinating, he sings a prayer to ''Wakan Tanka'' as his death song. But suddenly Hidalgo struggles up, and Hopkins rides bareback to win the race. Hopkins wins the respect and admiration of the Arabs, and becomes friends with the Sheikh, giving him his revolver as a gift. Returning to the United States, Hopkins uses his winnings to buy a herd of mustangs about to be killed by Government order, in what was an attempt by the US government to eliminate mustangs and force Native Americans to convert to farming. Hopkins has the horses released and frees Hidalgo to join them in the wild. The epilogue states that Hopkins went on to reportedly win 400 long-distance races and was an outspoken supporter for wild mustangs until his death in 1951. Hidalgo's descendants live free in the wild. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hidalgo (film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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