War Horse                                                              2011 Stephen Spielberg

Not your usual Spielberg type of topic, a straightforward narrative of history, much like Schindler's List in the ambition to capture the scope of the day's drama, yet also Disney-like in it's mechanism, War Horse takes us within a human drama of innocence lost, loyalty found, and sacrifice.

The story is great.  The thread of the narrative deserves a prize for its ingenuity and originality.  I was only taken back a bit by the obvious way in which many scenes played out, such as when horse and rider are united in the recovery camp in France.  Another thing that was missing was a link between England and the European continent.  I would think that one small scene of the horse on a boat with other horses could have filled that gap for us a bit, but there was none.  The youthful viewer who is not a keeper of historic understanding might believe that the war was just next door from England.

But the drama was good.  The acting was fine.  This was an "ok" movie for youth to see, and would be inspiring.  Much like his film "8mm", the film itself was a bit juvenile, and I suspect that Spielberg, for all his magic moments, has never really grown beyond ET to some degree.  He is forever enthralled with a youthful type of view.  Yet this does not diminish the parts of his films that appeal to the adult, and seriously deal with those topics we avoid, yet love to hate.

(spoiler here) The most poignant moment, most would agree, would be the meeting of the Allied soldier and the German soldier in the center of the battlefield, in order to free the horse.  It was funny, fascinating, sad, and melancholy all at once.  I was reminded of the moment in WWI when on Christmas Eve all fighting purposefully was called to a halt and the soldiers all came out of their trenches to smoke, talk, and share a moment of peace together before continuing the war the next day.  This really happened in history, and these kinds of moments continue to be the hallmark of Spielberg work.

Out of 10, this film must get a 6.5 for delivery, yet an 8.5 for the writing.  Good story.