War Horse Movie Review - Good, but oh so Sad

If you love horses, be prepared for an emotional roller coaster ride with "War Horse."

by Darley Newman

My eyes are still swollen this morning, as I literally cried through "War Horse", the new Steven Spielberg epic that follows a wonderful horse named Joey through his upbringing in rural England through Europe during the First World War. If the movie hadn't had a happy ending, I wouldn't have liked it, as many of the scenes were very hard for me to watch.

I was able to attend an advanced screening. Horse folks from MD, VA, PA and DC showed up to watch this film and there were, in fact, tissues sold in the concession area. They were vital. 

As a horse lover and animal lover in general, I have a lot of trouble watching any movies or productions where animals appear to suffer. "War Horse" has a few of those scenes. The movie is rated PG-13 for a reason, so is not for horse loving kids.

I was on an emotional roller coaster ride of great happiness and heartwarming joy and then anguish and sadness as I watched people who loved this very special horse Joey, a gorgeous bay with four white stocking legs and a white cross on his forehead, lose him. The cinematography is beautiful and as someone who does her own filming with horses, I thought they did a good job with horse sounds, mannerisms and the filming of action scenes. 

"War Horse" is a great movie, but be prepared to cry.