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Ah, Australia. Home of majestic mountains, wild horses, breathtaking vistas, and Russell Crowe. Where's Russell?
It was a dark and stormy night, fit for neither man nor beast . . . except for two guys on horseback. They stop at the Mitchell's place to inform Elyse Mitchell that there was a break in the farm's fence, but they fixed it. One of these men is called Jock, but we never learn the name of the other guy. He's referred to as simply The Man throughout the whole movie. We know him as Russell Crowe. Get a good gander, folks. It'll be awhile before we see him again.
Elyse is home alone with her young daughter Indi. Hubby Tom Mitchell and what I take to be the rest of the brood are off in Melbourne on mysterious business and are never seen in this movie. Awoken by the storm and the visit, India finds she is unable to go back to sleep. To soothe her daughter's nerves, Mum begins to tell her a story about Thowra, a legendary wild brumby.
It was on a stormy night like this that Thowra was born. Thowra means 'wind'. Did you know that? I didn't.
Day breaks and the storm is gone. There's a bright golden haze on the meadow. The muse upon her, Elyse begins typing up her story about the silver brumby. Her daughter is eager to read each new installment.
Thowra's mother, Belle Belle (who names these horses?) teaches her foal how to survive in the bush and to avoid the greatest danger of them all: man. Specifically, The Man.
Frankly, I don't think The Man is that bad. He helped fix the break in the fence without being asked or expecting recompense. He talks to his animals, and here we see him fish a calf out of a mud hole.
Does this look like a bad man to you?
As The Man rests under a tree, Thowra comes down to the creek for a drink. This is The Man's first look at Thowra, and he is hooked. (I know how he feels. I was the same way the first time I saw Russell Crowe.)
Strangely, the horse doesn't feel the same way and doesn't take kindly to The Man's attempt to capture him.
Neither does Belle Belle, who races in to save her offspring.
Even though the horse got away, The Man is undaunted and even more determined to capture Thowra.
Thowra has enemies in the animal kingdom as well. Namely, a rival stallion in another herd called The Brolga. (At least, it sounds to me like 'Brolga'.)
When the Brolga chases Thowra and Belle Belle, we meet Thowra's sire, Laramin. Laramin's not having any of this nonsense and runs Brolga off.
While out riding, Indi and her mother find a wounded kangaroo, which they take home to nurse back to health. What's this got to do with Thowra? Where's Russell?
It is summer, and The Man has returned to the movie -- I mean, the high country. He's there to round up wild horses, primarily the creamy that got away.
While The Man and his crew do manage to capture some horses, Thowra and Belle Belle manage to elude him.
Elyse and Indi pick up some
mail and talk about releasing the kangaroo back into the wild. Enough of
that, let's get back to Russell.
Winter is hard on the herd, and Laramin goes down to Brolga's territory and runs that herd off so his herd can have the better ground.
Back in the human world, good neighbor Jock drops by to offer to sell some brumbies to the Mitchell farm. He also invites Indi to watch him break the horses in. Jock doesn't exactly have a gentle hand with the animals, and Indi is emotionally scarred for life.
Meanwhile, Thowra grows up into a fine young stallion. One of his enjoyments in life is to lead The Man on a merry chase through the bush.
But there's a tragic end to Thowra's youthful exuberance. The Brolga challenges Laramin to yet another horse fight, and this time Brolga wins. Now the Brolga is King of the Brumbies, and Thowra must forge on alone.
The Man has a trick up his sleeve. At an auction he buys a Palomino filly and brings it to the high country in order to draw Thowra out.
With a steady, gentle hand, The Man tames the filly, which he names Golden. (Ooh, doesn't this one shot remind you of one from Gladiator?)
Thowra is definitely tempted. Catching The Man off guard, he makes off with Golden.
Mum and Indi release the kangaroo. I'm sure you were anxious to know whatever happened to it.
A year has passed and Golden is about to give birth. She's rather nervous about the whole thing and so she goes back to where she feels safe, with The Man. Wouldn't you?
The Man calms Golden down and helps her foal. By the way, it's a girl.
Using an old tactic, Thowra gets The Man to chase him. After losing him, Thowra circles back to free his family from the pen.
Now it's time for Thowra to avenge his father's death. He challenges The Brolga and we get yet another horse fight. You can never have enough horse fights in one movie.
The Man decides he needs some help in his quest and enlists the aid of the renowned tracker Darcy.
While out on their hunt, they happen upon Indi. They ask her if she's seen any brumbies. Indi remains mute. She's probably stunned speechless by The Man's rugged good looks. Can you blame her?
With the men hot on his trail, Thowra realizes his herd will never be safe as long as The Man continues to chase him. Thowra makes a fateful decision.
He sacrifices himself to spare the herd by jumping off the side of a cliff.
Aww, even The Man is sad. Doesn't that just tear you up? It does me. Oh yeah, and I'm sad about the horse, too.
But if you listen to the wind,
you can still hear Thowra's wild stallion cry. The legend will live on.