By Dave Montalbano
AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com
War Horse is a modest motion picture; it raised $67 million since it’s Christmas Day release. It got shut out of last weekend’s Golden Globe Awards, but earned Best Picture Award through the National Board of Review and the AFI Movie of the Year Award.
Given these under-publicized honors, War Horse is destined to become a literary cinema classic for years to come.
Based on Michael Morpur-go’s award-winning juvenile fiction novel, War Horse tells the story of Joey, a horse raised on a farm in Ireland. Joey and Albert (Jeremy Irvine) develop a symbiotic relationship that saves the farm from a greedy landlord (David Thewlis) for one more year. When World War I raises its ugly head, Ted’s father sells Joey to the military effort.
Being the last war involving a Calvary charge, Joey is put in the front line against the German Army. Through war’s inferno, Joey ends becoming a German War Horse, but not before encountering such interesting characters as two war deserters, a farmer and his frail granddaughter.
Director Steven Spielberg is the perfect director for this type of motion picture, with echoes of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and Schindler’s List. The most powerful violence occurs off-screen, but the consequences of war are presented without blinking.
Being a student of film master John Ford, Spielberg’s visual homages are apparent.
The human actors are perfectly cast. If young Albert Narracott keeps his nose clean, War Horse will be a launching pad to a long career as a leading man. Emily Watson and David Thewlis provide reliable support. While Joey is portrayed by 17 horses, the fictional character becomes real in War Horse.
Besides being technically proficient about the horrors of war, War Horse is a heartwarming movie about peace. Without special effects, explosions and computer animation, the thematic climax involves scared enemies in the trenches, barb wire and Joey trapped in the neutral zone. Resolution of this subtle scene is real.
For stoic people who shield their emotions, animals serve as a conduit. For me, the loss of Bill Elliott, who graduated with me from Deerfield Beach High School, became real when I saw his dog, Dinghy, standing guard over the dearly departed master during the memorial.
