Like the novel by Michael Morpurgo and the stage play 'War Horse' tells the story of a remarkable friendship between a horse and a young man during the First World War. The film opens in Devon, Engeland where a drunken farmer (Peter Mullan) buys a thoroughbred horse to the ridicule of the town. The man quickly realizes the animal is unfit to work on a farm. But not before his son Albert has named and bonded with Joey.
This first section of the film is one of the slower parts of the story. Spielberg takes his time and allows us to immerse ourselves in the struggles of the Narracott family. Soon the real world comes barging in. War is coming and Albert's father sees no other way to settle his debts than to sell Joey to the army. From here on the horse switches from owner to owner, eventually ending up entangled in barbed wire in the middle of no man's land.
The choice to follow the horse's journey allows us to capture parts of other people's stories. Not all of them hit the mark. There's a nice bit about a British officer (Tom Hiddleston) who rides Joey into battle only to become the victim of machine gun fire. And a little tragedy about two German brothers (David Kross and Leonard Carow) trying to get out of the army and away from harm. Like I said, not all of these segments work as well as they should. For instance, there's an extended interlude about an old man (Niels Arestrup) and his sickly granddaughter (Celine Buckens). It might be essential to the overall story but unfortunately it drags on too long.
As Joey makes his way through war-torn Europe we find out that Albert has joined the army as well. He's still looking for his horse but what is mostly on his mind is survival. Along with thousands of others he finds himself in the trenches, fighting for nothing more than a few meters of no man's land. It is in this segment that we see some of the film's most indelible images. The scenes featuring trench warfare stand shoulder to shoulder with Spielberg's earlier 'Saving Private Ryan'. While the latter was far more graphic in its portrayal of the horror of battle, the intensity is the same.
The World War I element of the story is compelling. We see the way warfare enters the mechanical age; tanks and guns become more dominant on the battlefield than horses and swords. This change of times only serves to underscore the passing nature of the film's subject.
Even though his character is underwritten newcomer Jeremy Irvine convinces as young Albert Narracott. Unfortunately, he's isn't allowed to become much more than an innocent farmboy. The real star of the film is Joey, the horse, and he gives a stunning performance. Rarely have I seen an animal emote the way these animals did (they used a total of fourteen horses for Joey's role alone).
'War Horse' features all of the classic Spielbergian trademarks. There's many a wide eyed stares, daddy issues, beautiful music by John Williams and some delicious cinematography by Janusz Kaminski. The film wears its heart on its sleeve which might irk some viewers. Those who go into this film expecting a prequel to 'Saving Private Ryan' will be let down. 'War Horse' isn't about the worst in men (and animals) but about the best.
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