War horse * * *

One might wonder that how can a story which has a horse as a protagonist work? Well, Steven Spielberg not only makes it work but the outcome is a cinematographic beauty which will definitely find a special place in people's hearts. His work convinces you beyond doubt that story telling is an art and he is the best artist in town.

It all starts in a small village of England before the first World War when an old farmer decides to buy a horse or rather is tricked into it by his own landlord. The farmer's wife scolds him over his stupidity but his son(Albert), who had seen this horse grow, is overwhelmed with joy and decides to train him and use him as a plough-horse. The magic of the movie starts right here when you begin to see Joey(the horse) as a person and the chemistry he has with his master is lovingly cute. It all makes you wonder, are we really a superior species and what gives us the right to rule the other ones.

Joey does wonders in their fields and gives them the hope of a good harvest but the rains spoil the show and the farmer sells him to a military general who plans to take  him to war. Albert is crushed deeply and you feel his pain through his eyes. Joey then takes on a long journey through the battle fields, touches numerous hearts and then somehow comes back alive from the no mans land to meet his very own Albert. But before that, Joey befriends many and proves to be much more than a horse. The way all these little stories have been portrayed, makes you fall in love with Joey. Makes you feel that it's just not humans who have hearts.

The symbolism throughout is just amazingly befitting. Joey comes out as a rainbow of human emotions comprising the agonies of destitution, brutalities of wars, atrocities on animals, heartbreak of an orphan girl and above all the absolute feeling of love defying all artificial boundaries. The scene where Joey desperately runs away from the battle fields is brilliantly shot and the subsequent collaboration among enemies to save a horse barbed in no mans land, stands out loud. The scripting is equally good and some of the dialogues are here to stay. Overall, yet another Spielberg master piece with a creative confluence of war, love and destiny. And of course, Joey, the horse, who btw is more deserving a candidate for a golden globe for best actor, more so than George Clooney in The Descendants!