“Set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War, War Horse begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets-British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter-before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land. The First World War is experienced through the journey of this horse-an odyssey of joy and sorrow, passionate friendship and high adventure.”

Ever since I saw its first trailer, I have been very excited to see War Horse. I am a big fan of Steven Spielberg films. I had hope that this movie would be fabulous. After viewing War Horse, it definitely lived up to my expectations.

The acting in this movie was excellent. I liked that there were not ‘big name’ actors. My favorite was Jeremy Irvine’s performance of Albert. Through the whole movie, you are hoping that someday, he and his horse will be reunited. This and the other performances really help the audience to connect with the horse, Joey, in this movie. Without this connection, the movie would be a failure. This is not the case with this film. By the end, I had a connection with Joey as much as I had with the human characters in the film.

I will admit that sometimes this film is hard to watch. It really reminds people how horrible World War 1 really was. There is a great deal of violence in it. It was not necessarily the war violence that was difficult to watch because I was expecting it. What was hard to watch is that many horses are injured or killed during battles re-enacted in the film. For me, these were the most intense moments.

Overall, this movie was a beautiful and inspiring film to watch. Spielberg once again has done a fabulous job. I would not expect anything less from him. If you are looking for a great movie to see this Holiday season, War Horse is one that should not be missed. I hope to see it winning some awards in the next couple of months!