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Galloping through World War I: War Horse Review

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Galloping through WWI: War Horse Review Steven Spielberg’s War Horse is a breathtaking visual masterpiece full of driving storytelling, gorgeous cinematography and fine acting. Set during World War I against a panoramic canvas of agrarian Europe and England the story follows an extraordinary horse named Joey. He is a thoroughbred unfit for farm labour however, he is bought on a whim by an impoverished tenant farmer much to the dismay of his pragmatic wife. Through one of Spielberg’s many striking montages, their teenage son Albert teaches him to pull a plough—showing the first sparks of their unbreakable bond. After the breakout World War I, to Albert’s dismay, his father is made to sell the horse to a fervent young army captain. From there the story follows the unbelievable journey of Joey as he moves through the war, from British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer with his granddaughter he alters and strikes the lives of all those that he meets. The story ends in a climactic finish where the now enlisted Albert is reunited with his beloved horse. By way of Joey’s eyes the hardships of war a marvellously depicted. The horse moves from person to person, civilian to army captain; the viewer can clearly see the toll the Great War took on the soldiers and innocent people. Throughout the film there is a sense of the worthlessness of war and how tragic it was. The battle scenes are heartfelt and one can feel the desperation to live and the exasperation

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