Movies

In true Spielberg style, War Horse is epic in every way. At its heart lies a classic tale, compelling for its simplicity and touchingly winsome. Based on the British children's novel of the same name by Michael Morpungo and the Tony award-winning Broadway adaptation, the film is a universal story of friendship, loyalty and bravery set against the backdrop of World War I.

Having raised his beloved horse Joey from a colt, Devon boy Albert (Jeremy Irvine) is heartbroken when his poverty stricken family sells the steed to the British cavalry. What follows is a grave journey for both horse and boy across both sides of the war as they yearn to be reunited.

Morpungo's novel, seen through the eyes of Joey, is vividly adapted in Spielberg's film: you can feel the steam coming off the horses' flanks and the rot in the socks of the soldiers' shoes. You'd have to be a cold-hearted wretch not to be stirred by this sweeping saga.

Spielberg, ever the master manipulator, pulls all the right strings to deliver an unabashed tearjerker. At times the production is so glossy as to become unreal: a perfectly cranberry-red sunset, a too-shiny button, a just-so mossy rock.

However, restrained, rich performances ground the viewer. Newcomer Irvine is homespun goodness personified, while the rest of the veteran cast offer brilliantly underplayed performances imbued with classic British wit, preventing the material from ever becoming melodramatic.

Aside from a painfully slow section in which Joey encounters a French farmer and his granddaughter, the film is enthralling. The launch of the film for Christmas is no coincidence; it taps into all those heartwarming messages of love and hope we love at this time of year but even the most jaded cynic will be moved by War Horse.