War Horse

War Horse by Steven Spielberg is the motion picture adaptation of the same children's novel which tells the story about a slick-looking bay Thoroughbred named Joey from Devon, England. We see how he is yearned and owned by Albert (Jeremy Irvine), before being separated from him by war. We tail Joey through a set of amazing stories he experiences in war service as the ownership passed the baton along, before he returns right back to where he belongs!

The movie does a fantastic job in developing the relationship between Albert and Joey. Albert has been eyeing the colt since its birth. He feeds and cares for him with love, patience, encouragement and positivity only. And this is the exact theme, tone and mood Spielberg consciously ensured to exist from start to finish, via every aspect of the writing and direction. Even the deaths are offscreen as a sample to this point. Back to where we were, Albert's unique whistle-call and car-racing with Joey are small snapshots of this sweet rapport. It is heartbreaking to see Joey taken away from Albert, but the journey the former goes through after that is too remarkable not to say no to! While Joey learns how to plow a rocky field in Devon, he acquires the knowledge of how to be a race horse under the hands of Captain James Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston), before being taught by Emilie (Céline Buckens) how to high jump, so on and so forth. By the time Albert reunites with him, he has already become a wholesome steed!

Every scene has a firm anatomy of storytelling, from setup, to confrontations and resolution. And these scenes push the tale to progress with points-of-no-return every step of the tread. Joey separated from his mother and traded only to be bought by Mr. Ted Narracott (Peter Mullan) over his landlord by 30 guineas, but that same incident puts his family in debt and presents a new challenge for Albert to break the horse and get their money's worth, for if they don't do so, not only will they lose the farm, but the horse too. Albert successfully plows the paddock with Joey in an awe-inspiring and moving episode, but no vegetation would grow there, resulting in Ted selling Joey to an army captain. The army captain however, promises to return Joey to Albert once the war is won, but the British is defeated instead and Joey is stuck with the Germans. See how conflicts constantly drive the plot forward? This is how it is from beginning to end - primary reason why your attention will never sway! And since the protagonist is an animal, the constant threat and tension is there as you don't want any harm to land upon him! Performances wise, all good, including David Thewlis as Lyons and the way he bullies Ted. Not to forget, the relationship between Ted and Rose (Emily Watson) is adorable.

Harold the goose harassment, Ted and service doctor almost shooting down Joey, Albert calling out for his pet using the exclusive whistle with his eyes-tied, Joey saving TopThorn by volunteering to pull the heavy artillery, military tank chasing Joey around no man's land, revelation about Albert's become a squaddie, Emilie's disappearance into the distance followed by her capture, Gunther (Leonard Carow) saving Michael (David Kross) as they escape the war together, ambush attack on a German camp by the British men-in-arms on horses, Andrew (Matt Milne) ordered to kill any fighter who returns to the trench and the entire climactic warfare are scenes and sequences that are irresistibly lovely! The German and British troopers sharing a cutter to fend the barbed wires off Joey with the intent of rescuing him and Emilie's grandpa giving the horse to Albert after having purchased it at the auction are the segments which will inform you that there is simply no better cinematic material out there to narrate a war story to kids than what Spielberg and team has accomplished here!

Spielberg is known for having the most versatile career ever in the industry! He has worked with aliens, kids, sharks, poltergeists, dinosaurs, holocaust, A.I.s, you name it! But to direct a live animal, to make it emote in closeups and extract extraordinary performance out of it requires an otherworldly skill. Joey running across no man's land as he is entangled by barbed wires is one of the many sequences which will leave you wondering how was all of this directed and canned. It's practically impossible, and this sums up Steven Spielberg.

One can't begin talking about the technical brilliance boasted in this feature, because where do and how could you even start?! Colors are exuberant, with constant hues of green; the color of virgin pasture presenting itself throughout the show, reminding us of the goodness and innocence amidst wartime being the recurrent theme. Every single frame is a painting! War Horse is one of the most gorgeously shot pictures, ever! Spielberg's longtime collaborator Janusz Kamiński's legendary cinematography here is something we don't see often in the world of celluloid. Soldiers mounting horses in the brush meadow, farm girl opening the windmill doors shown through the horse's eye, high angle of a completely plowed bawn, German authority gunning down Gunther and Michael as we witness it atop the windmill fan plus the sunsets during the horse-freeing mission and Joey riding across a wide landscape right before the end credits are among the many instances of breathtaking camerawork! Certain scenes are just lit beautifully! Some of the film transitions are highly creative, but the makers were careful to not overdo it as it may appear gimmicky - knitted scarf morphing into plain field is a specific example. John Williams' classic Yorkshire-esque score is evergreen, and the production design, well… everything about it, from the costumes, architecture, set design, props and so on, are tip-top!