Taking to the road, she is free to follow her wandering heart.

What does this film tell us about the types of things girls can do? About beauty? About independence?Īfter the loss of her parents, Sonora is rootless.

But now I’m more interested in what the story says about girlhood. Before I was simply attracted to the story of a girl and her horse because I was lucky enough to have a horse. The film still resonates with me in adulthood but for very different reasons. I had to sit on the floor, legs in the air, while my mother pried them off for me. Each evening, my boots, sticky with sweat and dirt, clung to my calves. After watching the movie, I cut my hair into a chin length bob and wore my breeches and tall riding boots every day that summer, just like Sonora, despite the suffocating Fresno, California heat. That’s right, a TRAVELING DIVING HORSE SHOW!Īs a girl, I loved that Sonora’s diving horse, Lightning, looked like my horse Shoshona-stunning, tall and all muscle, silver coat with a black mane and tail, a small snip of pink on the tip of her muzzle. Sneaking off into the night, Sonora takes to the road in search of a traveling diving horse show. Based on a true story, the 1991 film Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken tells the story of an orphan girl named Sonora (played by Gabrielle Anwar) whose beloved horse is sold off by her aunt-a punishment for her bad behavior.

Wild hearts cant' be broken