18/ JANUARY 2012 THE RIDER Film Review: WAR HORSE Saving Private Joey
(Directed & produced by Steven Spielberg for DreamWorks Pictures)
1/2
The night before I went to see Steven Spiel- berg’s War Horse, I was watching a charming TV special on horses and the part they’ve played in man’s evolution, hosted by Brit actor Martin Clunes (Doc Martin on PBS). One astounding detail Clunes revealed was that in World War I (1914-18), over a million horses were sent to the front but only 60,000 returned. That disturbing fact unsettled me so much that when I sat down in the darkened cinema the fol- lowing day, I had an entire box of tissues and a pair of dark glasses at hand – being a horse lover, I was prepared for a major sob- fest.
between the horse and the boy when Albert’s drunken father (Peter Mullan) buys Joey instead of a much- needed plough-horse to spite a local adversary. Joey proves himself worthy of Albert’s faith when he takes to the plough and saves (temporarily) the family’s livelihood. For his extraordinary tenacity, Joey is called a “miracle horse” by the locals.
We first meet our four-legged hero, Joey, just as he enters the world on a windswept pasture in Devon, England. As a frisky colt, he is befriended by farm lad, Albert (played by newcomer Jeremy Irvine), who tames and trains him. At the heart of the film is the remarkable friendship that develops
But war has just bro- ken out and Joey is sold to the Army to pay off the family’s rent debt, tearing Albert and his beloved horse apart. The film fol- lows Joey’s terrifying jour- ney through the western front with the British caval- ry where he forms a bond with another conscripted horse, then capture by Ger- man soldiers and forced into brutal labour hauling their heavy artillery, and eventually being saved by a French farmer and his granddaughter. But it’s when Joey becomes entan- gled in barbed wire in the middle of No Man’s Land that you’ll feel the lump rise in your throat. His sad and painful plight becomes the catalyst for a cease fire that shows both sides’ humanity in the face of war’s extreme horrors. Unlike Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan”, the full force of cinematic car-
nage is never exploited (remember those first relentless 30 minutes of Ryan?) however, the sight of horses pulling canons and heavy wagons, bleed- ing from hoof and fetlock, completely exhausted and covered in mud will no
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doubt disturb the more sen- sitive viewers. Thankfully, Spielberg has chosen not to saturate the screen with blood and body parts, horse or human, although there are a couple of scenes rem- iniscent of those “Gone With the Wind” post-battle overhead shots where Scar- lett walks among the wounded.
We are treated to a more family-friendly end- ing when Albert, who enlisted as soon as possible to follow and find his pal Joey, is finally reunited with his horse at a Red Cross dressing station. And, as the John Williams film score swells, we know
less of the obvious emo- tional manipulation of the audience, this is where I had to bite down hard on my lip to stop the tears….it didn’t work!
all will be well as Albert, temporari- ly blinded from a trench gas attack, walks towards the wounded Joey who is whinnying in response to Albert’s familiar whistle. Regard-
In between the snif- fles and tears, I was thrilled to see Oscar-nominated Emily Watson as Albert’s long-suffering but strong- willed mother and David Thewlis (Harry Potter movies) as the mean-spirit- ed landlord (although a somewhat clichéd charac- ter). Whether designed as stunt casting or by acci- dent, we have TV’s newest Sherlock (BBC Canada & PBS) Benedict Cumber-
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batch playing Major Stew- art, and Eddie Marsan (who plays Insp. Lestrade in both the Sherlock TV series with Cumberbatch and in the movie Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shad- ows) as Sgt. Fry who holds Joey’s ultimate fate in his hands.
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All in all, “War Horse” is a great ride and is kid-friendly (10+). Con- sidering most 10 or 11year olds are happy watching transformers blow things up or mixed martial arts heroes kicking the heck out of each other, they should have no problems watching “War Horse”. Just explain that the horses in the film are all actors, too, and that they’re wearing make-up just like the humans. The Rider gives three and a half hooves up for “War Horse” First a successful book by Michael Morpur- go, “War Horse” was turned into a hugely suc- cessful international the- atrical hit which is due to open in Toronto in Febru- ary.
Review By: Glenda Fordham
A Toronto-based entertain- ment writer & publicist
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