Seabiscuit (Full Screen) rating: asin: B0000DCGT0 binding: DVD list price: $12.98 USD amazon price: $11.99 USD

The movie Seabiscuit came up on my Netflix queue, so I watched it over the weekend. At first, I was kind of bored because the first thirty minutes were like a montage of different people going through traumatizing things. Because it was more of a montage than a linear story, I was not emotionally attached to any of the characters. However, that changed once Seabiscuit entered the picture. By the end of the movie, I appreciated the power of the montage.

Seabiscuit is not a movie about adoption in the strict sense, but it is definitely a movie about overcoming trauma. And, in a sense, Seabiscuit’s owner “adopted” the jockey because he treated the jockey much more like a son than a paid employee.

Seabiscuit was a real racing horse who became a symbol of hope during the Great Depression. To quote Seabiscuit’s owner (and I am paraphrasing), Seabiscuit was too small, the jockey was too big, the trainer was too old, and the owner was too dumb to know that all of this should be a problem.

Most of the characters were traumatized in one way or another. Seabiscuit was misunderstood, treated poorly by prior owners, and had “forgotten” what it was like to be a horse. The jockey, who was blind in one eye, was abandoned by his parents as a teenager during the great depression and struggled with rage as a result. The owner’s young son died in a tragic accident, which ultimately broke up his marriage.

Despite all of the hardship that each of them had suffered, the trainer saw a fighting spirit in both Seabiscuit and the jockey. All of them worked together to heal their wounds from their past trauma and became an American success story. Like many traumatized adopted children, they had a strong spirit inside that catapulted them to success despite all of the trauma they had endured.

If you are looking for a movie that drives home the power and resiliency of the human spirit, Seabiscuit will fit the bill.