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Friday 10 February 2012

Imagining England: Spielberg’s War Horse


The lives and works of actors, actresses and celebrity producers are followed closely enough (usually too closely for my taste) in the mainstream press and electronic media, and it is they who are generally regarded as the stars of the productions in which they are involved. Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s children’s novel War Horse however, whilst by definition being renowned for the leading role of its equine protagonist (in reality four horses), possessed another remarkable star: the English countryside.

The scenes of rural England are sure to have captivated foreign audiences, both those familiar with the country and those who have yet to visit. Given the commercial success of the film, it would seem certain of assuring a certain boost to the tourism industry at a number of its locations. Dartmoor, where the story begins and ends, displayed its unique charm, and many a location could be recognised by keen-eyed viewers familiar with the county. The hoteliers of Tavistock should take cheer from the publicity afforded to their unspoilt corner of England, but whether or not visitors will enjoy sunshine during their stay is an altogether different matter, for the verdant moss found in the woods and along the shady riverbanks is there for a reason: it rains a great deal.
  
Sheepstor over Burrator Reservoir


To any Englishman or woman familiar with the vernacular architectural styles of the country, some amusement was afforded by the disjuncture between the family farm high on Dartmoor, and what was supposed to be the local Devon town which was in reality the Cotswold village of Castle Combe in Wiltshire some 140 miles away (quite a distance to travel to your local horse market). Nonetheless, the beauty of Castle Combe itself gives explanation enough as to why it was chosen as a location that could be passed off convincingly as an English village on the eve of the Great War. Although many Devon villages have retained a certain degree of character from the time in which the film was set, subsequent development has rendered them less suitable for convincing location filming than many of the villages that can be found in the Cotswolds. Eagle-eyed viewers will, for example, have spotted a modern barn in one of the scenes shot on the edge of Dartmoor.

A scene much later in the film representing the Western Front, whilst also being located in England, reminded me of somewhere altogether different: second century Germania, for viewers of the film Gladiator may have noted that the opening battle scenes in that film were also shot at Bourne Wood in Surrey.

War Horse is shot through with Spielberg’s sentimental vision, but it is a visually arresting film in which Janusz Kamiński’s cinematography manages to evoke the timeless atmosphere of the English countryside, and sometimes makes us think as if the intervening horrors of two world wars and the subsequent demographic changes that have befallen our country had never taken place. It is an England populated by English people, albeit often with dodgy West Country accents that seem to veer into Irish. Albion as it was then was not perfect, but with respect to the problems that then existed, there was an optimism that they could be solved, as many of them were. Today, such optimism seems to have largely evaporated. Not only therefore does War Horse present us with a glimpse into the vanished England of our forebears, but also in doing so it begs us to contrast it with the state of our country and our people today. Whether we choose a tomorrow that is more in tune with the world of those who went before us, or with those who have of late come amongst us, is up to you. 

Castle Combe


6 comments:

  1. http://blazingcatfur.blogspot.com/2012/02/broad-cross-section-of-society-arrested.html

    just thought you would be interested in this..

    so it begins in the Euro part of Canada..

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  2. Thanks for the link VG. It's a very nasty case indeed, yet of a depressingly familiar type for an English reader.

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  3. Another interesting article from you. I have not seen this film yet but when I do being a dyed in the wool 'janner' I will listen out for the 'dodgy West Country accents'.... I agree with you that optimism has all but vanished nowadays and sadly I now believe that tomorrow is not ours to choose.

    (On a lighter note I would love to know why your revolving map always has me in St. Austell?)

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  4. Thank you Pat. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yes, some of the accents can raise either a smile or a cringe depending upon your mood.

    So, you're from Plymouth and not from St Austell? I'm not sure why you show up as St Austell on the map, but then again, it often shows me as being in Pontypridd. Not only have I never been to Pontypridd, but I don't even live in Wales! It's just one of those little mysteries of modern technology that is so perplexing, such as why the time settings in the comments section altered themselves to an alternative timezone the other month and I'm unable to find how to change them back (not that I'm that bothered).

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    1. It's to do with how it deciphers the IP address. Or, rather, which, IP address you're using at the time.

      My one here always shows Sydney, but on a Swedish site, it shows the suburb name instead. And it invariably gets it wrong.

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    2. Thanks for demystifying this issue for us Gary. Still, given what you put on your blog, you must be pleased that certain people can't pinpoint your suburb!

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