FOR EMOTIONAL DRAMA LOVERS
War Horse is a sappy, melodramatic film about the relationship between a farmboy and his horse — perfect material for a tearjerker. And a tearjerker it is. The film has some truly moving moments, many of them captured superbly by cinematographer Janusz Kaminski. The last shot of the film — a boy riding down a field, the red sun shining in the background, as he alights and greets his parents — is as memorable for the relevance to the story as it is for the way Kaminski’s shot it.
The story of Albert and his horse, Joey, War Horse is set against the backdrop of World War I. Albert’s father sells Joey off to a high-ranking British officer, Captain Nicholls, and the film then charts Joey’s journey from being war horse, to being a French girl’s pet, to being a carrier of weapons for the German army. Albert, meanwhile, enlists himself in the army, always on the lookout for Joey.
Some great scenes aside, you are left with a sense of being manipulated while watching War Horse, with several sequences pulling at heartstrings in a little-too-obvious manner. If you are a sucker for emotional dramas that make you weep copiously, War Horse is for you. Sadly, the film never goes beyond that.
Which is disappointing given that director Steven Spielberg has hardly ever adhered to norms. Sure, it’s commendable that Spielberg can deliver films as contrasting as War Horse and the animated The Adventures Of Tin Tin (which is the better of the two films and has been inexplicably ignored, even in the Best Animation Film category) in the same year. But you are left underwhelmed and wondering what this film is doing in the Best Picture category. Nominated for six awards, the only truly deserving one is for Kaminski’s cinematography, although he faces stiff competition in the category.
War Horse is a sappy, melodramatic film about the relationship between a farmboy and his horse — perfect material for a tearjerker. And a tearjerker it is. The film has some truly moving moments, many of them captured superbly by cinematographer Janusz Kaminski. The last shot of the film — a boy riding down a field, the red sun shining in the background, as he alights and greets his parents — is as memorable for the relevance to the story as it is for the way Kaminski’s shot it.
The story of Albert and his horse, Joey, War Horse is set against the backdrop of World War I. Albert’s father sells Joey off to a high-ranking British officer, Captain Nicholls, and the film then charts Joey’s journey from being war horse, to being a French girl’s pet, to being a carrier of weapons for the German army. Albert, meanwhile, enlists himself in the army, always on the lookout for Joey.
Some great scenes aside, you are left with a sense of being manipulated while watching War Horse, with several sequences pulling at heartstrings in a little-too-obvious manner. If you are a sucker for emotional dramas that make you weep copiously, War Horse is for you. Sadly, the film never goes beyond that.
Which is disappointing given that director Steven Spielberg has hardly ever adhered to norms. Sure, it’s commendable that Spielberg can deliver films as contrasting as War Horse and the animated The Adventures Of Tin Tin (which is the better of the two films and has been inexplicably ignored, even in the Best Animation Film category) in the same year. But you are left underwhelmed and wondering what this film is doing in the Best Picture category. Nominated for six awards, the only truly deserving one is for Kaminski’s cinematography, although he faces stiff competition in the category.
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