My First Watch of War Horse

I’m going to go right out there and say it. I cried. Bawled like a baby. Sad bits and happy bits. The whole film. About a horse. That’s right, I cried over a horse. Now I am not a horse person. Don’t get me wrong, I love animals and horses are beautiful . But also a little scary, with their giant mouths containing giant teeth. Not to mention their hooves that can crush you on one stomp (small exaggeration there). Alas, I cried over a horse.
I don’t how familiar you are with the popular Michael Morpurgo story of War Horse, but in summary it is about a horse in the war. I was drawn in with each mini story as the horse encountered different people and their own struggles during WWI.  You get rather emotionally attached. Spielberg really know how to pull on your heart strings. The horses were the best actors in the film by far. I’m not saying the other actors were bad, they were brilliant. However, I think that just emphasizes how good these horses were. How do you train a horse to lift its head in a certain way on command? Absolutely incredible. Yet, they weren’t even mentioned in the credits! My Dad and I watched the credits twice. Yes, twice. That’s a lot of names across a black screen. Not a word of who played the beloved war horse, Joey, anywhere. I felt a little bit of anger rise up at this point. That horse deserved an Oscar! Ok, exaggerating again, but that horse deserved more credit as the main character than German Soldier # 3.
I would like to say here, thank you to the horse that played Joey. You were amazing and I would love to see your next film. I now see horses in a new light. And will try to love them more.