As a rule, I try to avoid dog movies.  I am not as insistent upon this as Diane Blenke, the occasional contributor to The Legionnaire.  I know of no greater lover of the canine species than her.  As such, she does not watch them because, almost invariably, the furry friend in question gets hurt or worse.  I cannot say that I blame her.  They, like any animal, are the most innocent of God’s creatures.  Because of this, I do not enjoy seeing that happen in any film to any degree.  Still, when your goal is to try and review every motion picture, you have to make exceptions.  The argument can be made that Iron Will (1994) is not a dog film, though it does meet some of the criteria already discussed.  This might spoil the story already, but thankfully, none of the animals die.

The only thing Will Stoneman (Mackenzie Astin) is dying to do is to show his Iron Will to beat the train into his small South Dakota town with his dog sled team.  It is winter and the seventeen-year-old boy helps deliver the mail in order to help his family make money.  There are factors pulling him out of town.  In a broader sense, there is World War I and the United States entering the conflict.  A soon-to-be-man is expected to fight.  Closer to home, we learn that he has been accepted into college.  However, he wants none of this because he would rather continue to provide assistance to his family.  Besides, he does not believe they can afford his education.  Jack Stoneman (John Terry), Will’s father, says otherwise.  Jack comforts Will, saying the funds will come.  To that end, they hear of a dog sled race from Winnipeg, Canada, to St. Paul, Minnesota, a distance of over 500 miles.  The person who completes the journey first receives a $10,000 prize.  That would clear the Stoneman’s debts and pay for Will’s schooling.  The matter is dropped for the moment, and the next day Will is out sledding with his father.  Upon crossing a river, Jack’s conveyance breaks through the ice and he falls into the freezing water.  After some struggle, Jack realizes that he cannot extricate himself.  Instead of struggling further, he cuts the line to the dogs and sinks below.  His death devastates the family.  Burton (Richard Riehle), the local businessman, begins to put pressure on Maggie Stoneman (Penelope Windust), Will’s mother, to sell their farm.  This is not something Will can accept, but his idea to fix the situation is to enter the race.  Unsurprisingly, Maggie is shocked and against the idea.  Another person unsure of the soundness of this course of action is Ned Dodd (August Schellenberg), the Stoneman’s Native American farmhand.  Ned has a lot of experience with such competitions, and he demonstrates his knowledge by talking about all the challenges Will is to face.  Will is unflinching and vows that he will accept whatever training Ned can provide in the next month.  This convinces Maggie that Will can complete the trek, so she gives her permission.  Will does everything asked of him, and with love, heads to Winnipeg.  Once there, he enters the hall where the other competitors are being introduced by the race’s sponsor, Angus McTeague (Brian Cox).  It is announced that there is only one American entrant, Joe McPherson (Rex Linn), and this is when Will introduces himself.  Not only are they shocked by his age, but they are about to not let him enter because he does not have the $10 late fee.  Before his hopes are dashed, newspaper man Harry Kingsley (Kevin Spacey) steps forward and provides the necessary cash.  From that point on Will’s main competition is the Swede Borg Guillarson (George Gerdes).  Borg has unkind words for Will, and generally hates everyone else.  In the first few days, with Will getting out to an initial lead, Borg assaults the others and takes a couple racers out of the running through his brutal tactics.  Meanwhile, Harry is looking for ways in which he can sell Will’s story.  There is plenty written about Will, but Harry keeps being frustrated by the lack of frontpage coverage.  In desperation, Harry sends a reporter to Will’s hometown to get some further background on the Stonemans.  Upon learning of this seeming violation of his privacy, Will punches Harry, who had been following the competition by train.  Nonetheless, Harry’s words begin to spark the imagination of the people along the route.  At one town he passes through, two boys help him to find a river crossing, though they narrowly avoid being hit by a locomotive.  In other words, what he is doing has become bigger than himself.  Seeing the momentum, not to mention the skill that Will is displaying, Angus tries to pay Borg to stop Will.  Angus has bet money on Borg, and the Scotsman does not want anything preventing him from winning.  Borg’s tactic is to send his lead dog after Will’s lead dog.  It results in the animal, Gus (Beau), being injured.  This is sad for Will because Gus had been Jack’s favorite.  Even still, Will continues.  In the next town, Angus attempts to bribe Will to drop out, but Will twice refuses the cash offer.  Instead, he carries on, even though he needs assistance from Harry to be awakened on the last day of the race.  It is evident that the miles have taken their toll on Will, and the others pass him not far outside of St. Paul.  As he is lagging, Borg catches up and tempts him to follow a dangerous path along the river.  It is as this point that Gus perks up and demands to get back on the lead.  Before too long, Borg has fallen and is being eaten by his dogs.  Finally, Will manages to stumble across the line just ahead of the person in second.

That ending of Iron Will, by the way, is different than the history on which this is based.  Will is supposed to be Fred Hartman, who came in second.  The person who won was a native person.  In the film, there are a few such characters, including the runner up, but that person is not Ned.  I had to find a way of getting back around to talking about him because he has some great advice for Will.  Ned emphasizes a few things that are wonderful to this Catholic’s ears.  The broader of these words is about conquering fear.  In order to compete in such a race, let alone complete it, one has to be more than brave.  There is no fear in God, but bravery is more than simply the absence of fear.  What anyone in this kind of situation has to do, and Ned echoes these words, is trust.  You have to trust in your God given abilities, and you have to trust in the dogs.  In other words, you must understand that you are not alone in such an undertaking.  There is an old saying that God never brings us anything that we cannot handle.  That would be true even if Will did not finish the race, or worse, died in the wilderness.  Most people watching this movie will think that it is solely about the dogs helping him get through, or the others who came to root for him.  They are definitely important, but God plays a role, too.  This is not just me inserting my Catholic perspective as I always do, but once again repeating Ned’s words.  He specifically advises Will to let the Creator guide the journey.  There is something beyond fear and bravery, of whether the dogs will obey his commands or the other racers will catch him.  There is something that only God can provide, and that is the ability to face the impossible and keep going.  It has inspired saints throughout the centuries and it helps get Will over the finish line.

Even if, historically speaking, Iron Will Stoneman is not supposed to be the winner of the race, the movie is a solid one.  Some of the drama is maudlin early on, and Borg, and then Angus, are too much of mustache twirling villains at times.  All the same, I appreciate a survival story and how this one is inspired.