Irish themes often end up cloying or playing to stereotype. This movie, with its "mystical" Celtish theme and its message of Irish pluck could easily have fall into either trap.

But the kids -- and the horse -- save the day. Great actors, those boys. Great choreography with a beautiful horse. Together, these elements make the story remarkably engaging -- keep the story itself from devolving into bathos, and make it impossible for you not to suspend disbelief and root for the horse! Great directing to bring this all together.

Example of how such a fantastical story is presented with some subtlety: in one almost inconsequential shot, the two boys are walking down a crowded Dublin sidewalk, leading the horse. A couple of kids pass them, and throw unprovoked verbal abuse at the boys, disparaging them for being travellers. The older boy quickly spits back a retort or two in kind and then returns seamlessly to his ongoing conversation with his brother -- but doesn't break his stride and doesn't show any signs that the abuse has even registered with him. It is as once heart-rending (what does it say about his life so far that such an attack barely registers, it must be so common), and a testament to the boy's courage.

In that one brief scene, the movie shows the depth of character the kid will draw on throughout the movie, and you can't help but root for him! And the acting makes you feel like this is really who the boy is, not that he's an actor playing a part. (It was such a better scene than the heavy-handed scenes with the requisite bad cop.)

I always remember this movie for the shock of seeing a horse trying to live an apartment. Now, there's an unusual sight! I revisited this film last week and for a second and an overdo "ride" with these mystical Irish gypsies and their strange. By the way, I hadn't realized how nicely filmed this was until I saw it on 1.85:1 widescreen DVD.

Also to my surprise was that it wasn't the happy, family film I had remembered. There are many moments of frustration, sadness, violence, injustice, ete. It's hardly a bunch of fun times. The language is such, too, that I wouldn't recommend this for little kids, unless perhaps in Ireland where everyone seems to use Jesus' name in vain frequently, even kids.

It's still a story, basically, about two kids trying to capture and then keep a white horse, which is taken away from them. The cops (some crooked, as filmmakers love to show), the crooks and family are all out over the countryside looking for the boys and the horse.

In between, their father slowly comes to grips with the death of his wife some seven years earlier, a tragedy he has never been able to deal with correctly.

The best character and the most fun to watch is little "Ossie," played by Ciaran Fitzgerald. He's the one most-attached to the horse and the wee one has some of the best lines in the film.

Don't let the cheesy video cover put your off. This is a gem of a family movie that uses a wee bit of magic to pull a dysfunctional Irish family back together. This is not a Disney film. The actors lack Hollywood's plastic sheen and cutesy appeal--they're real and honest, and good. You know from the start that this story will end happily, but there are some interesting surprises along the way, and at the end, you feel like you've just seen a piece of literature, not popcorn entertainment.

I give this film 9/10. My 12-year-old gave it 10/10, and my sometimes-cynical husband acknowledged "Yeah, it's a pretty good movie." That's high praise indeed.