War Horse Movie Analysis

During the first World War, Britain lost approximately 887,000 men, nearly 2% of its population as a whole. To this day, World War 1 remains Britain’s costliest conflict. Given the enormous carnage of the war, any serious artistic treatment of World War 1 has to take the basic truths of war into consideration. Such is the case with director Steven Spielberg’s film War Horse, adapted from the novel of the same name by Michael Marpurgo. War Horse is a film that follows a horse named Joey over four years as he experiences World War 1.

A farmer named Ted Narracott purchases a young Joey to plow his farm and, although his wife Rose disapproves the purchase, his son Albert immediately takes to the animal and trains him for farm work. Eventually, war arrives, and all able-bodied men are conscripted, including horses to be used in the war effort. Ted sells Joey to Captain Nicholls, who promises Albert he will care for Joey and one day return him.

Captain Nicholls takes Joey to France, where he is used in the cavalry to attack German soldiers.

When a surprise attack goes badly, Joey falls into the care of the German soldiers. Through a tragic turn of events Joey ends up in the care of an old French man and his granddaughter before once again being discovered by the Germans and is used to transport artillery. Eventually, Joey is lost during a battle in No Man’s Land and a single soldier from each side, German and British, declare a temporary truce to help the wounded animal.

The film War Horse holds several themes, but the one that shines through the most is how war touches the lives of people beyond the front lines.

By following Joey as he switches handlers throughout the film, you are able to see how people are affected on different sides of the war, and those who aren’t even involved directly. For example, two German brothers who joined the army abandon their posts to return home, and run away on Joey and another horse. As they rest for the night, they talk of how the war has affected their family, leaving their mother with the worry of losing both of her sons- something that often became a sad truth for many families during the war.

When the brothers are later found and executed for abandoning their posts, Joey and the other horse are left behind and found by an old French man and his granddaughter. Several days later, soldiers arrive and raid their farm, taking nearly everything they own for the war effort. Later on, while the granddaughter is outside with the horses, German soldiers discover them and take them for pulling artillery. During the time Joey spends on the front lines, you can see how the war is directly affecting the soldiers and the people assisting them on the front lines.

Although the film had a large cast of characters, many of them only had short scenes and, outside of Joey’s main caretakers, the majority didn’t have names at all. The characters all had varying thoughts and mindsets about the war, and were all played brilliantly. Actor Tom Hiddleston stated in an interview, when asked about his character Captain Nicholls,”[He] is a soldiers poet, the kind whose like was never seen again.

One of the last people to care for Joey, a nameless German soldier known as nothing more than the horse caretaker, has a completely different view on the war compared to the soldiers he is surrounded by, and tries to protect the lives of the horses because it is all he can do. Albert’s character, although he seems to have a much younger mindset than his actual age, cares greatly for Joey and eventually enlists in the army to try and find him. The time Joey spends with the old French man and his granddaughter is a prime example of how war affects people beyond the front lines.

When it comes to the action and situations presented in the film, anyone can see the enormous amount of attention paid to historical events and details. It’s a somewhat remarkable feature for more current films to bring events and language from nearly a century ago to life in such an accurate way. The scenes of trench warfare in particular are very well done and clearly show the horror of war to the viewer. Before going “over the top” to charge the Germans, the British soldiers hand over their wallets and personal belongings to an officer who simply tells them they will get the items back “if” they survive the upcoming assault.

One soldier is ordered to remain in the trenches and shoot anyone who retreats from the battle. The look on his face as more and more of his comrades return to the trench during the attack- and he cannot bring himself to shoot them- is one of the films more memorable images. The most telling scene is set in No Man’s Land, shows a German and British soldier using wire cutters to rescue Joey from barbed wire he had become trapped in, having nothing more than a casual conversation about home as they do so.

War Horse is a film that is very genuine in its emotion, unflinching when it comes to showing the harsh reality of war, and imaginative with its story telling. John William’s score and the stunning cinematography only help enhance these points. Seeing something as brutal as warfare through something like the innocent eyes of a horse is an ambitious form of storytelling, but Spielberg pulls it off with vigor. Although described as a drama, War Horse falls more into the category of a melodrama. Some concessions are taken with the film, such as the snobbiness of some of the officers, but little else.

No one in the film speaks of the reasons behind why the war has happened, and instead give off a “war is hell” message throughout the film. War Horse is a wonderful movie that sends a powerful message about war to its viewer. It shows its viewers the first hand effects that war has on soldiers and those who aren’t even directly involved through beautiful cinematography, characters, and storytelling. It reveals what could make this movie a movie to be watched generation after generation, and the film holds all the hallmarks of Spielberg that help make a memorable film; powerful, gutsy, honest, and, above all, effective.