'Secretariat': a super movie for the Superhorse

I love horse movies. Always have.

I grew up loving animals, and always had pets. When I was a kid, even I knew that there is something special about horses that are unlike any other animal in the world. There is a reason they have been a revered species for centuries. Secretariat is one of the special ones. The greatest racing horse of all time.

Any film about this horse, has to be a good one. I really enjoyed this film. A fantastic true story, a great cast and a marvelous uplifting theme about being ahead of life, this film has everything it needs to be a hit.

Telling the true story of Mrs. Tweedy, the owner of Secretariat, and her struggles of running a horse farm and being a housewife. There is no better actress to play a woman like this than Diane Lane, who always has a very strong presence on screen, in every role she plays. John Malkovich pays Lucian Laurin, Secretariat's trainer, and he is hilarious! This is a perfect, bright and flamboyant role for Malkovich. And on screen, the chemistry between Lane and Malkovich is fantastic. I would really love to see them in another movie together.

Even though I already knew how this film ended, being familiar with the story of Secertariat, it was still intense and compelling every step of the way. There were certain tidbits about the story of this horse that I was not aware of, and enjoyed learning them. Having seen many horse racing movies before, I was very impressed of the camera work in this film. When Secretariat is on the track, he is the main character. It's the way the races themselves were filmed, from his point of view, that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Seeing a race from the point of view of a horse was a new experience for me, as an audience member.

The only thing about this film that slightly disappointed me was I wish Secretariat was more of a main character. The only time he is pushed in front of the other characters is when he is on the track. Other than that, Mrs. Tweedy is the main character. I just felt as if the trailers are a little misleading, and wish that Secretariat had more of a main part, like in "Seabiscuit".

However, the story is still unbelievable, compelling and true. I definitely recommend it to anyone that needs a good spirit lifting.