War Horse

The depiction of an animal’s suffering at the hands of a person marks War Horse as a cousin of Bresson’s Balthazar, while the relay narrative structure is reminiscent of Jancsó’s The Red and the White. I realise that these are wild comparisons that I should tone down in time, but I still consider Spielberg’s latest film to be not only a return to the narrative tradition of the classic Hollywood of Victor Fleming and John Ford (references to westerns can be seen in the development of the theme of tradition vs. modernity and the cavalry charge against the German camp, reminiscent of Indian attacks), but (paradoxically) also a remarkable narrative experiment. The plot seems simple at first and I imagined the ease with which the screenwriter “sold” it to the producer (there’s a horse, there’s a boy, there’s a war), but opening the gate dividing the small world of family conflicts from the big world of war gives the story an unexpected boost. The supposed protagonist is sidelined and the film atypically takes on the horse’s point of view, for which we are gently prepared in advance by the emphasis placed on the other animals. The father-son drama in the background of the class conflict transforms into a patriotic drama, which later turns into a war story about friendship, and there is even a comedic episode to lighten the mood. All of the outwardly stylistically incongruous events are linked by the two words contained in the title: war and horse. However, the film doesn’t show war with the hyperrealism of Saving Private Ryan, but rather presents to us an admittedly distorted, almost childishly naïve version of war (the kitschy image of the sky like that seen in old Technicolor melodramas). We are given advance warning of death through meaningful shots and Spielberg softens the painful scenes (the execution) with masterful visual and sound shortcuts (though these are somewhat obvious in his directing), and the battle scenes are filmed predominantly in long shots rather than in close-ups, which would have revealed more. The idea of war is not subjected to direct criticism (as perhaps in no other American film) but is rather shown as an inevitability. The bloody global conflict serves to push the touching narrative to humanistic extremes (rescuing the horse would have resulted in two absurd sketches). Spielberg openly uses the inhumanity of war to reveal the humanity of the heroes. War Horse basically says, “life is a struggle, but you will win it”. That may seem ridiculous today, when even a lot of Hollywood films slowly vacillate and doubt, but Spielberg is still able to present it with a certain magnificence that in the delayed conclusion will give you a feeling of being victorious (as usual, it will take a while to re-establish your equilibrium after the preceding shocks). If you let it. 75% (23/02/2012)

At times a colorful children's book, at times the hell of war, and at times an odyssey. Steven Spielberg, with somewhat of a sure bet, knows how to surprise you, and although the thoroughness or interconnectedness of the individual episodes sometimes stumbled heavily, I still have to nod approvingly despite my slight reservations. Considering how grandiose and, unfortunately, slightly prolonged the film War Horse feels as a result, it probably couldn't have been aimed more precisely. There are too many characters and moods here, and the plot either needed to be shortened by a third or stretched by an hour. The positive resonance resounds the loudest thanks to John Williams' amazing main theme and a few touching moments, against which there can be no defense. (25/02/2012)

This is going against the flow a little, but my problem with Warhorse isn’t that it’s a “chintzy Hollywood Spielbergesque tearjerker", but that in the end it isn’t like that at all. But that’s what it’s trying to be; too much, in fact; it is made like that but in its core it lacks the foundation to all movies like this - emotions. The bond between Albert and Joey is so slap-dash; it is ground up into mini-stories that blend into one; in the end I didn’t give a damn about either of them or about the movie either. And the movie should either have been much shorter (and just about those two) or should have been a regular mini-series, where each episode could tell one of the ten-minute escapades we see here. (15/01/2012)

Spielberg did what Cameron did years ago when he was filming Titanic, War Horse is not a groundbreaking in terms of plot, it’s a rather classic story, but Steven indirectly winks at us and suggests that this is how the true blockbuster films of the silver screen used to be made, with real emotions that are not often seen nowadays. The film aesthetics, the camera work, the lighting, etc. are also not standard that I would call them old-school. Therefore, it is a tribute to the old school. Whether it works in the end, everyone has to decide for themselves. For seasoned film enthusiasts, fans of the work of an eternal child, and the older population, War Horse will be a nostalgic escape from everyday reality. For the rest, it will probably just be a tedious bore, which half will consider as pathetic. Spielberg filmed what he wanted and did it very well. The scene with the horse against barbed wire is gripping. (25/03/2012)

This is a pretty special movie for me and I must say that I really enjoyed it. Spielberg filmed this in his own way and it ended up so that every scene looks like a poster. Some scenes stand out incredibly. The ride through the battlefield is the most powerful scene of the movie, thanks to John Williams’ music too. Sometimes maybe half of the good feeling from the movie comes from the somebody sitting next to you. (27/02/2012)