Synopsis: Read on IMDB
Should you watch this movie? Yes! It is a beautiful tale, adapted from the book of the same name with a little touch of Steven Spielberg.
When you watch the trailer of this movie, you know it’s going to be a heart warming story with rough patches, but ultimately (at least one hopes) a happy ending. Albert (played by newcomer Jeremy Irvine) raises his horse Joey while war looms across Europe. When Joey is sold to the English calvary, an adventure begins for both boy and horse, who witness the ravages of war (World War I) The story is told from the “perspective” of both Joey the horse and Albert.
It was a busy year for Spielberg who directed this film (and was involved in other films you’ll soon read about here) and one must say, by the quality of the productions, a great one. This movie is breathtaking, from the sceneries, to the story, even the horrors of war. I have never read the book, so I cannot compare, but I loved how the plot manages to “tell the story” of Joey the horse from his own experience without being one of those talking animal tales. It is never ridiculous and it does feel like this horse is one of us. One of the best parts, in my opinion, is the depictions of war scenes. Sides are not demonized or overly heroic; I thought it was great to see that both allies and enemies deal with the same issues and the senseless of war. If you are not touched by this story then you are probably part robot. Maybe you didn’t even flinched when Bambi’s mom was shot.
Some critics have mentioned how over-sentimental the movie is, and it probably is when objectively reviewed, however; this is not a documentary of WWI, but storytelling at its best. Had this been a program on The History Channel, then perhaps you could consider it sugary. For me one of the downsides of the movie how all characters spoke English even though they were depicting French and German people/soldiers. I don’t think it would’ve matter for these parts to have been subtitled. It would’ve added a powerful component to the plot I think. Instead we get to hear someone called Friedrich speaking a very fine, eloquent English, albeit with a German accent.
That aside, it is a great movie I can highly recommend.
Paola’s mood after watching this movie:
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