I can’t seem to remember when or where I watched the film I only remember how I felt. For me not to remember who or where I watch it definitely shows how in tune I was with the film. I was around 12 years old when I first watched the film and it made me feel strong. War Horse gave me strength I didn’t know was possible. Being able to go through such gory times while physically being destroyed yourself and still making it out alive. I feel unstoppable with the right love and determination, nothing can stop you from getting to your end goal.
This film is so remarkable in the way it shows a bond between a human and an animal. The bond that is made brings the entire town to watch what pure belief can create. A small skinny horse with a wild heart and a young boy with the pure belief lead to what old farmers had never seen in their entire lifetime. This conventional film had a clear message to be sent. The foal and boy are intertwined right from the beginning, once the young horse came into the boy’s life, he worked hard to gain the animals trust. Day in and day out right from the start they would work together, leading them to create a bond stronger than steel. With this power between them it’s no surprise they found each other in the end.
Before rewatching the film my memories seemed so simple and to the point. A boy and a horse went off to war together and came back alive. A big part of the movies that struck me as a kid is the scene where the horse fights through the barbed wire, every barb is its own battle to fight through. It was not until later on when I played the film again that I had realized the boy and the horse didn’t go off to war together the horse was sold to the army and the boy was too young to accompany him. Before the boy was old enough to fight for his country his horse Joey fought and survived through two battles. I also learned the barbed wire the horse ran through was several several strands that completely trapped the animal. The horse Joey caused a spark between the Englishmen and the Germans, both wondered what could still be alive in no man’s land. Joey had a will power so strong, along with the bond with Albert he could live through anything. The bond endures , this power even brought two enemies together in the middle of a war to free him from the grasps of the thick barbed wire.
Looking into some research I noticed my opinions and that of a few critics were too different. It’s an incredible story that Albert the Boy and Joey entered the war in such different times yet they made it out alive and together despite all the gore endured by both of them. Brown Beauty proves to me that I wasn’t the only one who received this deep and powerful message. Looking back at the movie I watched years ago shows me how little I remembered in terms of images and scenes yet the message I had received stayed the same.
An interview with Spielberg and the cast along with the poster can give you a little taste of this thick medicine.