War Horse movie review & film summary (2011) | Roger Ebert (2024)

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War Horse movie review & film summary (2011) | Roger Ebert (1)

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The closing shots of Steven Spielberg's "War Horse" will stir emotions in every serious movie lover. The sky is painted with a deeply red-orange sunset. A lone rider is seen far away on the horizon. The rider approaches and dismounts. He embraces a woman and a man. They all embrace the horse's head. Music swells. This footage, with the rich colors and dramatic framing on what is either a soundstage or intended to look like one, could come directly from a John Ford Western.

It is Spielberg's homage, I believe, to Ford and to a Hollywood tradition of broad, uplifting movies intended for all audiences. The performances and production values throughout the film honor that tradition. "War Horse" is bold, not afraid of sentiment and lets out all the stops in magnificently staged action sequences. Its characters are clearly defined and strongly played by charismatic actors. Its message is a universal one, about the horror of war in which men and animals suffer and die, but for the animals there is no reason: They have cast their lot with men who have betrayed them.

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The movie, based on a best-selling novel and a long-running London and New York stage production, begins on a small family farm in the English county of Devon. We meet young Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine), his usually drunken but not unkind father, Ted (Peter Mullan), and his hard-working, loving mother, Rose (Emily Wat­son). Lyons (David Thewlis), the landowner, presses them for past-due rent.

There is a horse auction in the village. Ted's eye falls on a handsome horse named Joey, and he determines to outbid Lyons for it, even if it means spending all the rent money. Rose is distraught: He was meant to bring home a plow horse at a low price and has purchased a sleek thoroughbred. But Albert and Joey bond, and Albert trains the horse to accept a collar and plow their stony fields. Then World War I breaks out. Drunk as usual, Ted sells the horse to the Army. Albert vows he will see it again.

Now begins a series of self-contained chapters in Joey's life, as the horse passes from British to German hands, has a respite on a French farm and then finds itself helping to drag a cannon much too big for the team. All of this is embedded in front-line battle footage as realistic as we saw in the landing at Normandy in Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan." All wars are hell. Surely few were worse for private soldiers trapped in the muddy, cold, desolation of the trenches. Horses thrown into this satanic chaos were confused, terrified and sometimes driven mad.

Joey meets a series of masters, most of them on both sides men who respected horses. Yet war is no place for sentiment, and as an officer explains with brutal realism, a horse is a weapon and must either be used or destroyed. Surely some of the best footage Spielberg has ever directed involves Joey and other horses running wild outside the trenches, galloping in a panic through barbed wire lines and dragging wire and posts after them as their flesh is cruelly torn. There's one of those scenes of temporary truce when soldiers from both sides meet in No Man's Land to share wire-cutters and set the horses free.

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All of this is magnificent. But it reduces the center of the film to a series of set pieces. The narrative thread is supplied by Joey, who is such a helpless protagonist that watching his adventures becomes painful — especially, I suspect, for younger viewers. A famous film by Robert Bresson, "Au Hasard Balthazar," follows a humble donkey through years of good and bad times, and shows all of the events as implacable chapters in the book of its life. Bresson makes no attempt to elevate the donkey; its lot is the common lot of all dumb animals in a world of arbitrary cruelty.

Spielberg ennobles Joey and provides an ending for the film that is joyous, uplifting, and depends on a surely unbelievable set of coincidences. I suppose it must be that way for us to even bear watching such a story. I am reminded of "Schindler's List." Six million Jews were exterminated in the World War II, but in focusing on a few hundred who miraculously survived, Spielberg made his story bearable. Among the horses of World War I, it can only be said that Joey's good luck was extraordinary.

The film is made with superb artistry. Spielberg is the master of an awesome canvas. Most people will enjoy it, as I did. But not included in the picture is the level of sheer hopeless tragedy that is everywhere just out frame. It is the same with life, and if you consider the big picture, all of us, men and beasts, have extraordinary good luck.

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Film Credits

War Horse movie review & film summary (2011) | Roger Ebert (9)

War Horse (2011)

Rated PGfor intense sequences of war violence

146 minutes

Cast

David Thewlisas Lyons

Niels Arestrupas Grandfather

Jeremy Irvineas Albert Narracott

Emily Watsonas Rose Narracott

Peter Mullanas Ted Narracott

Tom Hiddlestonas Capt. Nicholls

Based on the novel by

  • Michael Morpurgo

Directed by

  • Steven Spielberg

Written by

  • Lee Hall
  • Richard Curtis

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War Horse movie review & film summary (2011) | Roger Ebert (2024)

FAQs

What is the summary of the movie War Horse? ›

What is the message of the film War Horse? ›

Positive Messages

The two belong together, and Joey is committed not only to serving his country but to finding his beloved horse again. There are also messages about war -- both that it's an honor to serve your nation but that it's a tragedy to have to die for it.

What happened to Emily in War Horse? ›

The man is Emilie's grandfather and was looking for Joey. Emilie's grandfather tells Albert about how Joey and Topthorn came to their farm, and that Emilie had lost the will to live after they were taken from her, with Emilie fading away and dying at just 15 years old.

What happens to Joey in War Horse? ›

Following the conclusion of the war, Emilie's grandfather saves him from certain death at the hands of a butcher and sells him back to Albert for a penny. Joey returns home with Albert and returns to the farm as a triumphant war hero to live out his days in peace and contentedness.

What is the main idea of War Horse? ›

War Horse is, at its core, a story about finding courage through friendship. Though many of the characters are brave on their own, the love and loyalty they have for each other get them through the terrors of war.

What is the moral of the story War Horse? ›

Through the eyes of a horse, we witness the devastating impact of war and the enduring bonds of friendship. The novel serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by both humans and animals during times of conflict, and the enduring power of hope and love.

What does the horse symbolize in War Horse? ›

The horse comes back into the poem at this stage as he is the symbol of war. He is the powerful, invading force that we watch fearfully but hope will not impact on our lives.

What are the themes of War Horse? ›

MAJOR THEMES: War Horse touches on many themes including love, loyalty, the human-animal bond, loss, grief, anger, pain, bravery, desire for revenge, the uselessness of war, separation, excitement, survival and identity, leaving a small town to fight in another country, and universal suffering.

What is the point of view of the War Horse? ›

It was written from Joey's point of view, because he was able to be absolutely impartial. He doesn't know the difference between a German and a Brit. He only knows kind people and cruel people. Murpurgo wanted us to see all the participants free from national bias, to judge them as a horse would, on their actions.

Is War Horse based on a true story or fiction? ›

English author Michael Morpurgo's famous novel, War Horse, tells the story of the important role that horses played during the Great War. Although the equine hero of War Horse is fictional, his story is based on the true horrors experienced by the eight million horses who died on all sides.

What is the ending of War Horse? ›

World War I ends, and Joey is ordered to be auctioned because only the horses of officers will return home. Albert's comrades raise a collection to bid for the horse against the local butcher. The auction is won by Emilie's grandfather, who implies that she has died and the horse is all he has left of her.

What illness almost kills Joey in War Horse? ›

In this episode Joey becomes dangerously ill with tetanus. Initially it is suggested that Joey is put down but Albert's friend David convinces those in charge to give Albert the chance to save him. Albert, David and the other soldiers care for Joey every day and night until he is finally better.

What is a summary of War Horse? ›

What happened to the French girl in War Horse? ›

She wants to keep the horses with her forever, and it breaks her heart when Herr Major commandeers them for his artillery unit. After this final loss, she wastes away and eventually dies of sorrow and trauma at the young age of 15.

Why does Captain Stewart tell Joey that Captain Nichols would have been proud of him? ›

Captain Stewart tells Joey that Nicholls would have been proud of him for ending the charge that they began together.

What happened in the end of War Horse? ›

World War I ends, and Joey is ordered to be auctioned because only the horses of officers will return home. Albert's comrades raise a collection to bid for the horse against the local butcher. The auction is won by Emilie's grandfather, who implies that she has died and the horse is all he has left of her.

What is the movie War Horse a true story? ›

The book, WARRIOR: The Amazing Story of a Real War Horse (published 1934) and documentary: War Horse: The Real Story (TV Movie 2012) is the extraordinary and deeply moving story of the million British horses that served in WWI. The true story is more epic than the Spielberg feature film.

What is War Horse One movie about summary Wikipedia? ›

The film tells the story of a Navy SEAL Master Chief who accidentally lands in the mountains on the Afghan border. He must lead a child in distress to safety before air support arrives, fighting Taliban rebels along the way.

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