War Horse - Movie Review

Based on his latest release, WAR HORSE, this new kid – Steven Spielberg, I think his name is? – seems to be a pretty good director.  But he’s definitely not the first filmmaker to figure out that what you need to make a good movie is a good horse, or that you’re going to need a least a few good horses if you’re planning on delivering an epic.  BEN HUR, IVANHOE, THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, GALLIPOLI, and DANCES WITH WOLVES are just a few examples.

WAR HORSE, adapted from the novel and stage play of the same name, is set in England on the eve of World War I and then on the bloody battlefields of Western Europe once the fighting begins.  It is the story of the inspiring and enduring bond between a young man and his horse, the separation and adversities that they must both accept, and ultimately, it serves as an affirmation of what all “horse people” already know, or should know, in their heads and their hearts:  that there is something so powerful, so unique about the relationship between human and horse that this mutually shared love and respect can withstand any hardship – and even bring “the war to end all wars” to a complete halt, even if only temporarily.

Just as this is not the first epic to rely upon horses, the Great War was far from the first military conflict to utilize cavalry. In many respects, it was the last.  Horses have likely been used for battle since they were first domesticated, some 6,000 years ago.  By at least 2,000 BCE, horses were being used to pull war chariots, and the ancient Assyrians formed the first cavalries sometime around 900 BCE.  The mobility and shock value of the mounted soldier has been prized by military forces throughout history, from the Mongolian marauders of Asia and the armor-clad “chevaliers” of the Middle Ages, to the Americas, Spanish Conquistadors, and the many skirmishes between the US Army Cavalry and skilled Apache warriors.  But by the early stages of WWI, it had become horrifically clear to military strategists that the modern machine gun had rendered the horse cavalry essentially obsolete.

Because of the film’s impressive realism, filmmakers have been earnest in assuring audiences and animal rights groups that none of the 14 horses used to play the title role or any of the other animals in the film were harmed or injured in any way.  However, some of the scenes of simulated animal suffering are difficult to watch.  In fact, many moviegoers have reported that they found the depictions of horse suffering in this film more evocative and disturbing than many of the images of human suffering.  Horse-lovers may be particularly troubled.  So, if you plan to bring young people to see WAR HORSE with you, take its PG-13 rating seriously.