Resilience and Faith in Spielberg's War Horse (2011)

Introduction

This paper provides a critique of the 2011 film War Horse, directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is set during the World War I era and follows the life of a horse named Joey. Throughout its narrative, the film presents various depictions of what it means to be resilient. This paper summarizes the film, examines the key concepts found in its storyline, and discusses resilience and the Biblical response to adversity as portrayed in the film.

Film Summary

The film begins with the birth of Joey, a horse whom a boy named Albert admires from an early age. The colt is ultimately auctioned and bought by Albert's father, Ted, at a price more than three times its actual value. Ted is willing to pay that price because he knows the horse will bring his son happiness. Albert is indeed made happy by Joey and trains the horse to do many things — even to plow the fields, though Joey is not a plow horse by breeding. However, adversity strikes and the horse must be sold. Although Albert is the main human character of the film, Joey is truly the star, and the horse's journey now diverges from Albert's for a time.

Joey goes on to serve the British military during World War I. Albert tries to enlist so that he can stay with the horse, but he is too young. Later, once Albert has grown, the two are reunited — though much adversity will have passed between them. Albert loses a friend in the war and is himself temporarily blinded in the trenches. Joey, too, passes through various hands: from the British military to the German side, and then to a provincial French family — a father and daughter who briefly befriend the horse. In the end, Joey is reunited with Albert through the actions of Colin, who saves the horse from a tangle of barbed wire during a conflict between the British and German forces. Albert hears of the horse and whistles his old familiar call; Joey, who is about to be put down, stirs and moves toward Albert. It is a scene that feels miraculous, given the odds against their ever being reunited. Yet the fact that they come together again suggests that miracles do happen and that faith is, therefore, a beautiful thing to hold onto.

The adversity is not over yet, however. The military intends to sell Joey, and just as at the beginning of the film, it becomes a matter of who has the money to buy him. Albert hopes to purchase the horse with a collection taken up by his fellow soldiers, but he is outbid by a French farmer who wants to buy Joey in order to honor the memory of his daughter, who had loved the horse. Joey, however, wants to remain with Albert, and the Frenchman realizes that Albert is the one who truly should have him. He gives Albert the pendant that had belonged to Ted — which Albert had pinned to Joey's collar when the horse was first sold to the military, and which the Frenchman had since kept. Albert returns the pendant to his own father, and father and son share a bonding moment as they leave their respective war experiences behind and come to a mutual understanding of respect and suffering.

Key Concepts in War Horse

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity and overcome obstacles. Inherent in the concept is the idea of internal toughness and strength — the capacity to withstand physical, emotional, and spiritual hardship and to rise above these challenges toward victory. The film argues that in order to live, one must be resilient and must find a way to overcome adversity. There are numerous examples of resilience throughout the film, but Joey represents it more fully than any other character. Joey possesses a kind of stoic essence — a determination to endure that makes the horse so remarkable. For that reason, the film takes its title from Joey's role as a war horse, because life is filled with so much suffering that one must be like Joey if one wants to make it through.

Suffering is also a major concept explored in the film. Ted, Albert's father, suffers from war trauma. It is never explicitly identified, but he relies on drink to cope, and he is emotionally unstable as a result. He does not like to talk about the war, and his wife preserves his medals and pendants, which she eventually gives to Albert. In the end, after Albert has suffered through his own wartime experiences, father and son finally come together as equals, understanding suffering on an even plane. Joey also endures suffering as a war horse, being passed from one front to another and nearly put down for a lame leg. The film's point, however, is that suffering does indeed make one stronger — so long as one is able to endure it and see the light at the other end of the tunnel of pain.

Trauma occurs when an experience is so shocking that it disturbs an individual's psychology. The individual becomes unable to process the experience in a healthy way and ends up coping by isolating himself from others or engaging in self-medication. Ted copes through alcohol and by refusing to speak about the traumatic experiences he endured in the war. Trauma also hangs over Joey's life as the horse moves from hand to hand throughout the conflict. In some way, all of the characters who interact with Joey face their own form of trauma.

Loyalty is a major theme throughout the film. Ted is loyal to his son: he knows the horse means something to Albert, and that is why he buys it for the outlandish sum of thirty guineas. The son is loyal to his father and to the horse, which is why he ties his father's pendant to Joey's collar when the horse is sold to the British military. Emilie's father is loyal to his daughter's memory, which is why he buys the horse at the later auction. Joey is loyal to Albert — who trained and loved him from birth — which is why the horse still responds to Albert's call after all its struggles and adventures throughout the war. The two soldiers who free Joey from the barbed wire, though from opposing sides, are both loyal to the idea of decency and the humane treatment of animals, which is why they set aside their differences to help the horse. Loyalty is the principle that fosters resilience: without it, there would be no firmness, no strength, no faith, and no hope. Loyalty to an idea, to something higher, to the concept of love — this loyalty is what enables the characters, and Joey, to carry on.

Conclusion

Resilience is about resolve, strength, determination, and the ability to endure. Joey symbolizes resilience in the film through his capacity to absorb everything that is thrown at him. He learns to plow even though he is not a plow horse. He brings joy to everyone who comes into contact with him. And his loyalty to Albert ultimately saves his life, because he responds to Albert's call just as the gun is raised to his head. Inherent in the idea of resilience is the idea of faith. Faith inspires hope — it enables one to see through the gloom and suffering and find the light at the end of the tunnel. Even in the darkest moments, one must have faith in order to be resilient — to believe that the pain will not last forever.

References

Craig, W. L. (2008). Reasonable faith: Christian truth and apologetics (3rd ed.). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Evans, C. S., & Manis, R. Z. (2009). Philosophy of religion (2nd ed.). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Spielberg, S. (2011). War Horse. Los Angeles: DreamWorks.