WAR HORSE directed by Steven Spielberg (UK, 2011)
From sunrise over rolling country hills of Devon to sunset in the aftermath of war, there are scenes in Spielberg’s shamelessly sentimental movie that could have come from an advert for English butter.
This isn’t a story of cows but of a young man’s love affair with a miracle horse named Joey.
Albert Narracott is a farmer’s son who witnesses the birth of this “strong, decent and fine animal” , raises it like it was his own son, reluctantly releases it for adoption when war is declared and is reunited when peace arrives four years later.
If the two had married they’d have sired a foal called Emily, named after the young girl who is one of a series of humans besotted by this noble beast. Continue reading
