War Horse - 8 stars out of 10

War Horse - 8 stars out of 10

"War Horse," while giving the impression of being a children's movie (particularly since it is based on a children's book) actually moonlights as an impressive depiction of World War I.  The story seamlessly weaves together the perspectives of many of the countries involved in this war, all connected by the journey of a strong-willed horse named Joey.  It doesn't matter if you guess the ending - this film is about the journey and not the result, although there are a few unexpected twists along the way.  The thing that will always stick with me is the graphic portrayal of no-man's land.  We've all read about it in history textbooks but this brings the brutality and hopelessness of trench warfare to life.  And the barbed wire sequence will definitely imprint itself in your memory forever, first horrific and concluding with a resolution that creates a wonderful statement about our internal connection throughout humanity.  The artistic vision of this film is amazing.  My favorite shot of the entire film is the execution of the two German soldiers, blocked by the rotation of the windmill.  Not only does this save children from having to see a graphic shooting, but it makes the brutal action into a beautiful image (I know that it's twisted but it's so amazing to watch).  One shortcoming of the film is the difficulty to latch on to any of the characters (aside from Joey).  With the film taking place in several different chapters, each focusing on a different character's ownership of Joey, it is difficult to see much character development.  The two characters that I did latch onto were Albert (obviously) and Emilie, but most of the others were forgotten when their chapter was complete.  Albert's friendship with the horse is developed well enough that the "horse identification scene" (don't worry, no spoilers) has a deep emotional impact - that's when the tears began to flow.  The beautiful cinematography of the closing sequence paired with John Williams' Oscar-nominated score makes for the perfect ending.  "War Horse" isn't the greatest film I've ever seen, but the artistic and creative portrayal of WWI through the eyes of one horse makes this into a moving cinematic experience.