War Horse

Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Jeremy Irvine, Tom Hiddleston, Peter Mullan and Emily Watson
Releasing in cinemas: 26  December 2011
Rated: M

Steven Spielberg's War Horse is an epic production that opens with a sweeping camera to stirring music over green hills and valleys. It's the work of an accomplished film director pulling out all the stops, if at times overdoing the sentimentality. Based on a Michael Morpurgo novel and later Nick Stafford's National Theatre stage adaption, there's much to admire in the scope of the work.

In a Devon farming community we meet the Narracott family. Stubborn father Ted (Peter Mullan) attends a horse auction and buys an attractive but unsuitable horse for a very high sum, bidding against his landlord. This foolishness could bankrupt the family, and mother Rosie (Emily Watson) is furious, while the son Albert (Jeremy Irvine) falls in love with the fiery horse he calls Joey, and implores his father to be allowed to train it. An unyielding rocky paddock needs ploughing, an almost impossible feat for the colt they've acquired at such cost. Together Albert and Joey attack the field with increasingly dramatic scenes as their strong bond develops. However the little family's now badly in debt to the landlord who wants to foreclose.

This on the eve of WW1, and when war is declared, Ted takes Joey and sells the horse to the army for thirty guineas - think pieces of silver. Albert's horrified, but the horse has joined the army and nothing can be done. Promising to find Joey one day no matter what happens, Albert enlists as soon as possible to search for his equine friend; embarking on a long, brave and dangerous search through war-torn Europe. 

As in Au Hasard Baltshazar, we follow Joey through various owners, both good and bad, during four appalling years of conflict. From being the mount for the sympathetic and courageous cavalry Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston), hauling ambulances in the battlefield, dragging huge cannons into place under a merciless German commandant, to being the adored pet of a sick French girl Emilie (Celine Buckens); Joey’s journey culminates in traumatic scenes with the horse finding himself terrified in no-man's-land under shelling. Finally, he’s trapped between the trenches of the British and the Germans, where barbed wire and the bravery of two soldiers from opposing sides brings about a short truce.

Quoting director Steven Spielberg, this is “..a timeless story about the sacrifices of love. The sacrifices a boy makes in a time of war to find his horse, and the sacrifices the horse makes just trying to survive...”  Spielberg  paints a broad canvass from the rolling hills of Devon and quaint old-fashioned village life, the brutal killing fields of the war dominated by enormous, grotesque 'modern' machines of death, the interlude of pastoral peace of a French farm, then the smoking horrors of no-man's-land. The Great War trench battles are realistically recreated with a nod to previous films including the classic All Quiet on the Western Front.

Idyllic scenes contrast the bloody violence of the Great War. 'Over the top' attacks across no-man's-land are graphically depicted; the thunderous soundtrack keeping you alert to the horrors of it all. Touching details are included, like the pooling of valuables before the attack. Teams of struggling horses hauling monstrous cannons up steep hills has a strong visual impact. The cavalry charge is also handled with the skill of a top director, even if the bloodshed is sanitised in keeping the the family rating.

The cast provide solid performances. Newcomer Jeremy Irvine acquits himself well; Emily Watson (Oranges and Sunshine) is reliable as his concerned mother, as is Peter Mullan (Trainspotting) as the alcoholic father; Tom Hiddleston (Thor) is exceptional as the kind British captain, Benedict Cumberbatch (The Whistleblower) makes an inspiring Major, another newcomer Celine Buckens provides a sympathetic Emilie, and Niels Arestrup (A Prophet) convinces as her adoring Grandfather. An oddity: the Germans all speak English fluently with just a smattering of popular German words - rather confusing in opposing trench scenes.

Filmed in classic style with large numbers of extras, and visually striking scenes, War Horse takes on epic quality. It’s certainly not stage-bound, indeed it's hard to imagine how the story could translate to the stage. At times though it’s not always well-judged, and the last act runs well into saccharine territory; and is frankly a little overcooked. The final scenes of filtered skies, pinched from Gone With The Wind, may have a few wringing out their hankies. This feeling of emotional manipulation is endorsed by John Williams’ evocative music.

War Horse is a lengthy journey, with some unevenness for a family film; yet remains a heartfelt journey worth the taking.

* Franju's Thomas The Impostor contained the distressing scene of a burning horse galloping through an embattled town during WW1.  

John Bale