The Horse Went to War

There are very few movies that depict the events of World War I.  World War II came about when the film industries in Hollywood and abroad were big business.  Fresh in the minds of ticket buyers, World War II was inevitably destined to command both big and little screens.  In War Horse (2011), Steven Spielberg has provided us with a glimpse into the horrors of war unique to World War I.  The cast does a terrific job in this film, but big name stars are not needed to carry this film.  As in all great movies, the story is the star.  War Horse is no exception, unless the source is the horse, of course.

The casualties of World War I are staggering, including the million or more horses that died resulting from battle or military service.  War Horse is a tale about one of the lucky ones.  The battle scenes are few, but memorable, and there is no more violence than necessary to depict events.  The look of the film is stunning, with the scenic English and French countryside filling the big screen from end to end.  No less stunning, but haunting, is Spielberg's depiction of 'no man's land' between the Allied and German trenches on the Western front of World War I.  It is grim, grey, dark, wet, barbed, and doomed to all but a few of the fortunate.  There is a nice scene in 'no man's land' between an English and a German soldier who meet under a flag of truce.  Perhaps motivated by the events of the Christmas Truce of 1914 that played out along the trenches early in the war (For a fine film depicting this story, see the French film Joyeaux Noel (2005)), this scene portrays a frequent irony of war: the enemy is not so bad when you get to know him.

As in all of Spielberg's films, the attention to detail is enormous.  For example, there is a scene outside an Allied hospital during a snowy evening.  High above the street, windows are lit from the light of the room inside.  They are somewhat frosted, but passing through the light, people are seen moving past the window frame, shadows approaching and retreating.  These types of details fill every frame of the film.

The film is fantastic and very well-paced.  Spielberg knows how to tell a story.  The final scene reminds me of the look of the final scene in Gone With the Wind.  I wonder if this is a coincidence, or is there something more to this?   See War Horse for yourself and let me know what you think.