WAR HORSE is a soppy, schmaltzy film about the great love between a teenage boy and a young horse, but it's quality schmaltz, thanks to Steven Spielberg's technical talent for the screen. Even composer John Williams gets all sentimental with a rather obvious score, but no one could be too critical of such a big hearted story, told with such enthusiasm.

For a start, the horse is marvellous to look at, and should get some sort of equine Oscar for his performance, too. Just look at those big eyes, full of ... something. This is the major factor in the film; if we don't fall for the horse and stay in love with him, the film would be meaningless.

The story is part adventure part hero's journey: two heroes, in fact, because Albert (James Irvine) is as much a hero as Joey the horse; and I put it that way round because it is really Joey who faces impossible odds, terrible ordeals and death defying situations. Several times. It is his survival we barrack for, and his courage and spirit which lifts us out of our seats and right inside the cinematic fable.

Young Albert sees Joey being born in a Devon field, and then admires him from afar, until his father, Ted Naracott (Peter Mullen), buys the colt at auction - one of the film's best scenes, to be reprised in rather different circumstances towards the end of the film. In between the two auctions, the world changes for Albert, his family and the world at large.

Spielberg seems so determined to push everything at us he makes everything in a major key, so much so that some scenes are stilted, and some images are pure cliché from the archives (eg the end shots). There are some savage battle scenes, where Spielberg's experience on Saving Private Ryan comes to the fore. Harrowing though they are, it is essential to the story, to demonstrate the extraordinary elements that make the story and the horse so special.

Not all of the escapades work equally well; the French farmhouse where Joey takes refuge with his brother h

Urban Cinefile
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Ever since "Saving Private Ryan", the work of director Steven Spielberg has been hit-or-miss. Finally, our wait for the return of his classic touch is at an end with WAR HORSE, both a model of cinema done right and – even more importantly – the epitome of Spielberg done right.

The story starts on a farm in Devon rented by the Narracott family – father (Peter Mullan), mother (Emily Watson), and son Albert (Jeremy Irvine). When the father buys a beautiful horse for three times its work value, Albert becomes enamoured with it and trains it, naming it Joey. Their bond becomes as strong as possible between a human and an animal.

But on the outbreak of the First World War the British Army buys the horse, along with many others in the county. Albert promises Joey that they'll find each other again one day – and eventually enlists to embark on a search for his friend.

Spanning four years during the war, the story is of Joey's journey; from becoming the mount for a brave English officer (Tom Hiddleston), to a German workhorse, to a gift from God for a dying little girl. He gives us a glimpse of the waste of war – and of all the soldiers, both young and old, who never deserved to die.

The film is genuine in its emotion, unflinching in its reality, epic in its grandiosity, effective in its performances, and imaginative in its storytelling. John Williams' score and Janusz Kaminski's stirring cinematography only enhance this.

Seeing something as brutal, terrible and human as war through the innocent eyes of a horse is an ambitious form of storytelling, and Spielberg pulls it off with honesty and authenticity. I felt each emotion as if I was a marionette, manipulated by the director's strings.

WAR HORSE has all the hallmarks of the Spielberg we've missed so much: powerful, gutsy, honest, and effective.


The Telegraph
Copyright The Telegraph UK