When I first saw the trailer for ‘War Horse’, I admit, I wasn’t impressed. No, I wasn’t. All it showed me was a horse running, that’s it. It didn’t tell me what it was about or anything, apart from there being a horse and, presumably from the title, a war. I think this was just a way on getting people who have read the book into a frenzy. I hadn’t read the book or heard of it until this point. I was also quite worried about the main human's interest in the horse; almost obsessive.
‘War Horse’ is about, well, a horse called Joey, as we follow his journey from birth, to learning how to be a farming horse, the friendship that develops between the horse and the farmer’s son Albert, and inevitably what Joey experiences during the First World War.
After starting to read the book, I have to say I do prefer the film, one reason because of the way the film portrays its human characters. Albert’s father for example in the book initially came across as dreadful person, but, in the end, a good man, whereas the film shows him as a decent but tormented individual. It’s nitpicking, okay I admit that.
The main reason though why I prefer the film, is pretty much the way it is told. The book is literally first-person, we see it through the horse’s eyes, if the horse isn’t there for a scene, we don’t see it. Unlike the film where we do see what other characters are up to, so that we can get a better understanding of them, we can see their emotions and reasoning behind their actions. While the first-person perspective in the book was really good, it is difficult to portray in the film.
Don’t get me wrong though, the film does focus more on Joey and his journey, and it is a fantastic story, seeing his interactions with people from birth and through the war. It is really is fascinating seeing all the characters Joey comes across, the farmers, the British cavalry and fellow horse Topthorn, the German brothers, the French grandfather and his granddaughter, the German soldiers taking the horses again to pull heavy artillery, before Joey flees across no-man’s land and is eventually reunited with Albert. It is a truly touching story.
It also looks at the journey of Albert’s father’s war pennant, how it moves with Joey from the farm to the war, how it moves from Joey to Gunther and Michael, to Emilie and her grandfather, and eventually it returns to Albert, along with Joey. It is a brilliant idea to, not only follow Joey’s journey, but to follow the journey of the war pennant, how both journeys comes full circle and return to the farm.
And while some of the time the German soldiers are portrayed in a negative light, the film doesn’t actually show them as inhuman monsters. The German brothers Gunther and Michael (David Kross and Leonard Carow) we see who take in Joey and Topthorn are the prime example, but then there’s also the German Horse Keeper who looks after Joey and Topthorn whilst they drag heavy artillery, and it’s a shame I can’t remember or find online what the character’s name is or who the actor was because I was very fond of him.
But in particular there’s that scene where Joey is trapped in barbed wire and British private Colin (Toby Kebbell) and German soldier Peter (Hinnerk Schonemann) help each other in helping him. This was such a touching anti-war message, I mean, you know how I felt in ‘Joyeux Noel’ when the Scottish, French and German soldiers all got together for Christmas, and this one in ‘War Horse’, again shows how, even in times of war, peace, harmony and unity can still be found, it shows us how much in common these two enemies really have, Peter even gives Colin some German wire cutters, as a gift, a means of assistance. The two soldiers even hinted at a reunion after the war when they told each other where they came from. This is actually probably my favourite scene, there was even some humour when Peter says they need another wire cutter, and five or six are thrown from the German trench.
But this is a sad film, such as when Albert has no choice but to watch Joey be taken away by the army, or when human, including the brilliant Captain Nicholls, and horse were mowed down by machine gun fire, or when Emilie loses both Joey and Topthorn to the Germans when she so loved them.
Probably the saddest moment for me was when Topthorn dies from exhaustion, and Joey looks on. When Joey and Topthorn first meet, they’re initially rivals, as shown when neither wanted the other to win the practice charge; though Joey manages to edge ahead, which in a way earns Topthorn’s respect. When Joey’s rider Nicholls is gunned down and Major Stewart are captured, Joey and Topthorn are essentially partnered together and therefore only have each other during the war, where they spend four years together. When Topthorn finally dies, it’s sad because Joey has now lost his only true friend, who Joey has looked after and who looked after Joey in return. Yes there’s still the German Horse Keeper who has essentially been the only German who hadn’t threatened to shoot him, but the relationship between Topthorn and Joey was truly immense, it’s heartbreaking to see it come to an end.
But of course, everyone was brilliant in their roles, even those who weren’t on the screen that long, like Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston), Major Jamie Stewart (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Emilie (Celine Buckens). Special mention does have to go to Jeremy Irvine as Albert, who truly brings something special to the character.
But, in all honesty, every single human character is outclassed by the animals. From the goose that acts like a guard dog on the farm, to Topthorn and especially Joey. Seriously, if there was an animal equivalent of an Oscar, Joey deserves it hands down. You get such emotion, such a sensation from Joey, you sometimes forget that he’s a horse, if you understand what I mean. Then of course there’s the other animals, there’s one scene in particular that I want to address. When the Germans have gotten some horses to drag a heavy artillery gun up a hill, one of the horses collapses and a soldier comes over to shoot it. The camera faces the German Horse Keeper and the other horses, including Topthorn and Joey, the gun goes off and all the horses look up in unison. That was a truly brilliant performance from those animals.
I’ll be blunt, I absolutely loved this film. It is a masterpiece, it is a brilliant piece of storytelling, about how friendship can bound two individuals, man or animal, together, how even in the darkest of times, even when separated, their friendship can survive, no matter what. It’s a fascinating and inspirational film, which truly needs to be seen.
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