War Horse (2011)

“Can you imagine flying over a war, and you know you can never look down?  You have to look forward. Or you’ll never get home.”

 

            War Horse is more than just a movie. It’s a masterpiece of cinema. An outstanding blend of gorgeous cinematography, a wonderful screenplay, a heart-warming story, and a grand, old-fashioned epic of a tale that will engross you from start to finish. It was, to put it plainly, one of the finest films I have ever seen in its cinematic first-run. It approaches and approaches the gut-wrenching conflict through the innocent eyes of a horse.

It’s also very intense. The combat scenes are harsh and realistic, in the vein of Saving Private Ryan, only without the entrails. The visual effects, of which only a handful was done with CGI, are amazing. (If you have already seen the film, or do not mind mild spoilers, you can read an interesting article about the VFX process here. )

             War Horse is bold and unafraid of sentiment. In spite of the improbability of its events, and the sheer coincidences that are required to keep the plot moving, the film itself stays within the bounds of reason. There are no magical animals, and no sign of impossible intelligence within them. Joey, the titular “war horse,” is just that; a horse. A very smart horse, but a horse just the same. This gives audiences a nice break from all the talking-animal crap that has become so popular.

Wonderful performances abound: Peter Mullan gives a moving performance as Ted, Albert’s father, who has fallen on hard luck and taken to the drink to forget. A couple of my favorite character actors are in it; Emily Watson plays Albert’s loving mother, and David Thewlis is their landlord, who threatens to take away their land if they fail to pay the rent. He is not a mean character or a villain. Like all characters in this film, he is just another human trying to take care of his family.

Newcomer Jeremy Irvine gives a breakthrough performance as Albert, the boy who took it upon himself to adopt Joey after his father purchased him in a failed attempt to spite their landlord. He vows they were meant to be together, “Which is the way I think things were meant to be,” he says. But history has other plans, and Joey is sold to pay the rent.

          And so begins an epic tale, as Joey goes from owner to owner throughout the period of the war, and Albert sets out to keep his promise to Joey that they will be together again. I will not give away any more information about the plot, for part what makes the movie so grand is experiencing it for one’s self. And I highly recommend you do. War Horse is a movie that was meant to be viewed on a grand screen, and experienced with an audience of others as they are swept into the story. The finale in itself is worthy of admission; a spectacular sunset of red that will shed tears from your eyes, whether they be for good or for bad. (I’m not telling which!) This is the type of film that is destined to become a classic, and will live on in the halls of film history. I saw it twice so far, both times the film received a standing ovation (yes, standing) from an audience who laughed, cried, and obviously had as grand a time as I did.

10/10 – A masterpiece