Unlike the MPAA we do not assign
one
inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE
and PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest,
depending on quantity and context.
A 16-year-old girl (Alison Lohman), whose parents own a quarter horse farm, longs to be back with her horses while suffering through boarding school. But when she returns to the family farm she has to confess to her parents that she has not passed her first year and will have to repeat it. After a heated argument the young woman finds a wild Mustang, that she names Flicka, and insists on taming and caring for it, despite her father's disapproval. Also with Tim McGraw, Ryan Kwanten, Maria Bello and Danny Pino. Directed by Michael Mayer & Rusty Hendrickson. [1:34]
SEX/NUDITY 3 - A young man and a young woman kiss tenderly in several scenes. A husband and wife flirt, dance and kiss each other in a party scene. A young man and a young woman caress each other and flirt in a few scenes. ► We see a young woman's bare back while she sits in a bathtub, and a young woman wears a bikini while swimming. A woman wears a low-cut, tight-fitting top that reveals cleavage and the outline of her nipples are visible, and a young woman wears low-cut tops that reveal cleavage and bare shoulders in several scenes. A young man is bare-chested in a few scenes, and a man is bare-chested in a couple of scenes. ► A man asks a young man if he is going to "...put his brand on that girl this summer."
the review continues below...
VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - A man prepares to shoot an injured horse, and we hear a gunshot and fear that a horse has been shot. ► A young woman rides a horse out of a competition ring and back into the wild, the horse throws the young woman, and a mountain lion attacks the horse from a tree (we see bloody gashes on the horse's neck). ► A horse rears and kicks a young woman on the back (we see a very large and dark bruise on her back when she bathes later). A young woman is thrown off a horse several times (she is not badly injured). A young woman on horseback chases another horse, ropes it, holds onto the rope, and she is pulled off her horse and dragged on the ground briefly. ► A young woman is thrown from her horse, she is chased by a mountain lion that snarls at her, and she tumbles down a hill. A horse rears and whinnies in order to scare away a mountain lion. ► A young woman enters a ring where a wild horse is pacing, she approaches the horse, the horse rears, and the young woman falls and crawls toward the fence (she's OK). Many rodeo riders are thrown off horses and bulls in a competition. A young woman chases a horse in a trailer being pulled away by a truck, the horse stomps and snorts, and the young woman screams and cries. In a few scenes a horse snorts and paces while in a ring. ► A man ropes a horse that is charging toward a cliff, just before it falls over the side. A herd of horses charges after another horse and men try to round them all up again. ► A family argues bitterly: the son shoves the father and the daughter yells at the father. ► A woman picks up a snake and kisses it on the back of the head. A woman dumps a bucket of water on a young woman's head, and the young woman screams and chases the woman. ► A young woman suffers from high fever, and she thrashes and says things that do not make any sense. ► We hear a story about a girl toddling into a horse's stall when she was little and the parents fearing that she could have been killed. A man asks a young man if he is going to "...put his brand on that girl this summer."
SUBSTANCE USE - People are shown holding what are presumably alcoholic beverages at a racetrack.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Family, parents' fear of their children getting hurt, family farms, following your dreams, restless spirits, mustangs, lies, ambition, dreams, nature, fear, anger, pioneers, disappointment, responsibility, challenges, discipline, hate, sacrifice, vanity, being shallow.
MESSAGE - Never give up on your dreams -- but don't forget to include your family in those dreams.
A CAVEAT: We've gone through several editorial changes since we
started covering films in 1992 and some of our early standards were
not as stringent as they are now. We therefore need to revisit many
older reviews, especially those written prior to 1998 or so; please
keep this in mind if you're consulting a review from that period.
While we plan to revisit and correct older reviews our resources are
limited and it is a slow, time-consuming process.
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