Rating: 7 out of 10, I was totally prepared to dislike this movie when I first saw it in the theater. I’ve never been a horse guy and thought this was going to be another Spielberg attempt on our hearts. It was certainly that but damn it, Spielberg is such at expert at the heart thing that I actually ended up liking the movie. Horses are not like dogs but the horse in this movie almost reaches that level of interaction which I thought would be impossible. The movie suffers a little because the human star, Irvin, is a little too earnest to be real. It almost begs the question about why he likes the horse as much as he does. The rest of the cast is extremely good and captures the innocence of pre-World War 1 England. Kebbell is once again extremely good as the British soldier who rescues the horse from barb wire doom. I think we’ll be hearing a lot more from this actor – he has great screen presence. The cinematography of this movie is among the best I’ve ever seen and that is preserved watching it on blu ray – some scenes just blow your socks off. I did have some issue with the military tactics shown, such as the Germans placing an undefended encampment in front of their defensive line. I really did like the depiction of the lives of the soldiers, even the German side which Spielberg didn’t demonize, which I know must have been hard for him. The simple soldiers trying to survive the hell of trench warfare was eloquently portrayed during the rescue scene. So, well worth a watch if a little too sickly sweet at times, what is going on between Irvin and the horse?
MVP: Arestrup as the grandfather expertly plays the grandfather totally bewitched and trying to protect his sickly granddaughter both from the Germans and herself
No comments:
Post a Comment