Seabiscuit is by no means a new movie- it was filmed 5 years ago and I saw it then, but just watched it again for the 2nd time. I remember liking it then but I've grown to really appreciate it this time around.

In short it's a true story about 3 men and a racehorse they all found. It takes place in America in the middle of the Great Depression. One man (Jeff Bridges) made a ton of money selling cars, but his young son died in a car accident and his wife left him. Another man is an old cowboy type loner who wanders around the west training horses. The other man is a horse jockey (Toby Maguire) and his family had abandoned him at the racetrack when he was young, but he's bigger than all the other jockeys (not a good thing). The horse came from a long line of champion racehorses but he wasn't a good racer and was too small.

The underlying story of this plot was the most meaningful to me. The Great Depression in America in the 1930's was no doubt "depressing" for Americans. It was said that about 25% of people were unemployed- men couldn't feed their families- people were reported to eat weeds to stay alive. The significance of their lives during this time was parallel to Seabiscuit's life--a horse that wasn't good enough and almost put down, a seemingly worthless existence.

So these men, in their own ways which you'll discover, find this horse and race him. It was the underdog team and they won the races, even against the 'fastest horse alive'. Americans were emotionally connected to this team that never gave up and rose beyond the grim circumstances. I hesitate to call this an American mentality, because people from every country rise above circumstances and with a never-give-up / sky's-the-limit kind of attitude...but it seems to me that this kind of attitude is something Americans thrive on and accept. Not only Americans that were born here, but people from all over who come to America too- to thrive to reach their goal in a place that wants you to succeed.

Anyway, I'm babbling now. It was a really emotional movie for me, so if you're feeling at all sensitive don't be surprised if you reach for the tissues. I really adored this film too because it was very educational. If you're interested in The Great Depression and American history, it's a wonderful account.

I would give it a 10, but I had one issue with it that annoyed me throughout the whole thing...when he was riding on the horse and it showed a close up of the jockey's face, it was SO obviously fake. You'd see the fake horses head bob up and down like a machine. This was my only complaint... so I give it a 9.75. :)