When funds get tight due to unforeseen events, Albie's father sells Joey to the military for use in WWI, without the boy's consent. Albie swears to Joey they will one day be united and Joey comes under the care of Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston). Once placed into service with the military, Joey's life undergoes many changes and the horse changes hands, seeing the war from all sides. Joey starts out with the British military, then is confiscated by the Germans. He then ends up on the French farm of a sweet young girl, Emilie (Celine Buckens) and her grandfather (Niels Arestrup). Although Emilie's health is very fragile, she develops a deep bond with the horse and is devastated when the Germans snatch him from her care, to be used to carry incredibly heavy artillery, watching other horses drop dead all around him. Through it all, he remains the incredible animal that Albie first discovered, determined to one day return to his master.
Unbeknownst to Joey, Albie has enlisted and is serving in the war himself, in the hopes of finding his horse. As he watches his comrades die all around him and is seriously injured himself, he wonders if he will ever be reunited with Joey. As WWI comes to an end and the surviving war horses are being auctioned off, will Joey and Albie find each other or will fate intervene once again?
War Horse is not your typical war movie. It's about the bond between a man and his horse, one that is unbreakable even at tremendous odds. It's about the humanity within the war, the men who are forced to care for horses physically pushed beyond their limits and made to watch them die. I liked that it showed that men from warring sides could come together to help each other for the common cause of aiding an innocent and hurting animal. Before seeing War Horse, I honestly never considered the impact WWI had on animals, but 8 million horses were killed during the epic war. Seeing Joey's story dramatized in this film was quite moving.
Everyone is spot-on in their roles and perfectly cast, from Irvine as Albert, to his father Peter Mullan, Emily Watson as his mother, and Celine Buckens and Niels Arestrup as Emilie and her grandfather. This is not a movie of big name stars, but because of this, it's that much easier to focus on the characters they are playing. The best, by far, is Joey, since the horse conveys so much in his actions, his looks and the sounds he makes (although the foley guy deserves much of the credit for that).
Seeing War Horse on Blu-ray is the only way to go. Whether it is the lush, verdant vistas of pre-WWI Europe or the grim, colorless palettes of war-torn cities, you'll want to view every crisp detail. Sound is phenomenal, from the clomping of rushing horses, the authentic gun reports sounding all around you, or John Williams' fantastic score, which ranges from whimsical to stirring. As for special features, there are quite a few. For starters, you'll get the film on Blu-ray and DVD, plus a digital copy. Special features include featurettes on Williams' musical score and editing, the sound effects of the film, Kathleen Kennedy's viewpoint as the producer, a short featurette on the extras, plus an amazing making-of covering all aspects of the film clocking in at over an hour. I was surprised that there weren't any deleted scenes with a film of this length, but what features are there are enjoyable.
Overall, War Horse is a beautifully shot, compelling drama from Steven Speilberg about a side of WWI that many people may not have thought much about before now. Highly recommended.
