After a lengthy break without physically being able to get to a cinema, I hath returned, and what a fantastic piece of film I come back to. This review is on Steven Spielberg's first live action movie since the fourth instalment of Indiana Jones...which I still maintain was all right, but let's not dwell on that one. Yep, we're talking about War Horse.
Adapted both from the 1982 novel by Michael Morpurgo and the highly successful stage version thereof, War Horse is the tale of a young man who raises and trains a thoroughbred horse, before it is sold to the army at the outbreak of World War One. I don't want to mince my words here, and don't want a usual jokey style to stumble in the way of this, but this film deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.
The whole concept of the story is hokey and a little cheesey, after all, it was initially written as a novel for children. However, at no point during the entire film do you find yourself questioning the plot or recognising any cheesiness at all. Under the influence of Spielberg and the screenplay offered by Richard Curtis and Lee Hall (of Billy Elliott fame), you are swept up and sucked in to just about every emotion you thought you had, plus the odd couple you might newly discover.
The movie is framed fantastically; we are led through the innocent, happy farm lifestyle of the Norracotts of Devon, who buy Joey the horse, essentially bankrupting themselves in the process. Life gets hard for the family, until their son Albert (Jeremy Irvine) trains the horse to help their labour. This scene is then shattered when a ruined crop means Joey is sold to the British army to aid the war cause.
The journey undertaken by Joey from this point is staggering, through a series of events both tragic and horrific, he is passed from owner to owner, British, German, French and back again. But each time he is moved on, he deeply affects the life of those who take care of him.
I genuinely do not wish to divulge too much more of the plot, as it deserves to be seen for itself, but know this: no matter how coincidental a journey Joey's may be, you never let the thought spoil the story for you. This is a tale that truly works on screen.
The movie also demonstrates that Spielberg is, if not the finest director working, he is at the very least the best in the business at conveying the true horrors of First and Second World Wars. He showed us the nightmares of the Holocaust in Schindler's List, and the harrowing task of the soldiers landing Normandy in Saving Private Ryan; this time out Spielberg undertakes the challenge of taking one of the most truly soul destroying battles in military history, and doing it justice in cinema; The Somme. Spielberg gets everything perfect here, from the gut-wrenching wait for the British soldiers to go over the top, to their inevitable mass losses as they ran directly into enemy fire, surrounded by their fallen comrades and a never-ending jungle of barbed wire, we are forced to see just how terrifying an experience the battle must have been. But importantly, in one of the most memorable scenes of the film, Spielberg also shows us the compassion and mercy the men of opposing sides shared for one another, whereby a Tommy (from South Shields, no less) and a German soldier call a truce in the name of aiding a certain four-legged fellow.
The acting is superb on all parts, with great supporting roles from the likes of David Thewlis and Emily Watson. But again, it is the horse itself who takes the plaudits here. Lord only knows how he managed it, but Spielberg really does make sure that the audience understands exactly how Joey must be feeling at each and every turn, despite the fact that you'd expect a non-talking, non-human character to be easily overshadowed by the vast war being fought around him.
You will almost certainly catch yourself with something getting stuck in your eye at some point during this film, if not several times. It has Oscar-winner written all over it, and is simply another fantastic movie to add to the list of Spielberg classics; I very much doubt he will believe he has made many finer films than this.
5/5 - This is the film to beat in 2012. There are many I am anticipating this year, but they have some task in toppling this one.
Go. See. War Horse.
