Tag: World War I

A Scottish woman’s struggle to survive

Kirsty (Hermione Corfield, in white dress) attends a village celebration in The Road Dance. (Photos courtesy of Music Box Films)

By Richard Ades

In 1904, on a beach in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, a man and his young daughter have just finished a swimming lesson. When the father asks the girl what she’s learned, she names the three most important lessons: paddle with your arms, kick with your feet and, perhaps most importantly, breathe.

Thus begins The Road Dance, setting the stage for the survival struggle that faces Kirsty (Hermione Corfield), the grownup version of the girl, 12 years later. Her problems stem from a farewell celebration held for her beau, Murdo (Will Fletcher), and other local men who’ve been called up to fight in World War I.

Despite the circumstances—and despite the obvious jealousy of Kirsty’s rejected suitor (Tom Byrne)—it’s a joyous occasion. But then Kirsty goes off by herself to answer the call of nature and is subjected to an attack that leaves her dazed and irrevocably changed. The encounter sends her on a dark journey that she attempts to hide even from her loving mother and sister (Morven Christie and Ali Fumiko Whitney).

Directed and written by Richie Adams, who based his script on a novel by John Mackay, The Road Movie is steeped in atmosphere.

Petra Korner’s cinematography immerses us in the rustic island community, with its stone fences and houses, windswept hills and lonely beaches. Composer Carlos Jose Alvarez’s mournful score is as distinctly Scottish as the inhabitants’ dialects.

Further clarifying the time and place are bits of dialogue that define the community’s religious core—for example, when a minister sermonizes about a village girl’s fateful surrender to temptation, or when an old woman demands to know if Kirsty is carrying her Bible. (She is.)

Murdo and Kirsty (Will Fletcher and Hermione Corfield) take a walk.

One result of the focus on atmosphere is that following Kisty’s attack, we assume what happens next will be as predictable as the sunset over the Atlantic. How could it be otherwise, given who she is and when and where she lives? And for a long section of the story, that appears to be the case.

Eventually, though, things change. Rather than being predictable, The Road Dance proves to be full of unexpected developments. Some of them, truthfully, are a bit contrived, but fine, naturalistic acting by Corfield and the rest of the cast help to keep the tale centered.  

Though not perfect, The Road Dance is worthwhile not only for the tragic story it tells but for the beautiful and richly atmospheric way in which it tells it.

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

The Road Dance (no MPAA rating) will be available through select theaters and VOD outlets beginning Oct. 13. It will be screened at Columbus’s Gateway Film Center beginning Nov. 3.

Unlucky horse hardly leads a stable existence

Conscripted horses Joey (right) and Topthorn prepare to charge the Germans in a battle scene from War Horse (photo © Brinkhoff/Mogenburg)
Conscripted horses Joey (right) and Topthorn prepare to charge the Germans in a battle scene from War Horse (photo © Brinkhoff/Mogenburg)

By Richard Ades

When you saw The Phantom of the Opera or Miss Saigon for the first time, chances are you didn’t come out of the theater exclaiming, “What a chandelier!” or “What a helicopter!”

The special effects, as spectacular as they were, simply played supporting roles to the stories and the music of the night.

When you come out of War Horse, conversely, chances are you will say something along the lines of “What a horse!” Which is to say, “What a puppet!”

The life-size puppets that portray titular steed Joey and other equines are the best thing about this Tony-winning British import. They trot and gallop, fight and play, eat, swat flies and generally behave like real-life horses.

In Act 1, frankly, they’re more believable than their human co-stars. Working under Bejan Sheibani’s direction (which is based on the work of original co-directors Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris), the actors often emote in melodramatic tones that suggest every moment of every day is a life-or-death struggle.

Credibility does improve in Act 2, when both the humans and the horses actually are engaged in a life-or-death struggle—namely, World War I. But even then, the tale is less impressive than the stagecraft with which it’s told: not only the horses, but the sights and sounds that suggest, rather than depict, the horrors of battle.

Adapted by Nick Stafford from a novel by Michael Murpugo, War Horse is a simple story.

In Devon, England, a poor farmer named Ted Narracott (Todd Cerveris) buys a foal at auction simply to show up his brother. Ted’s wife, Rose (Angela Reed), is not pleased, as the family can’t afford a horse that was bred as a hunter rather than a beast of burden. But their son, Albert (Alex Morf), quickly makes friends with the colt and takes on its care and training.

The real drama begins years later, when war breaks out and Ted sells the now-grown Joey to the army to fight the Germans. Though underage, a heartbroken Albert secretly enlists and is sent to France, where he hopes to be reunited with his old friend. What he doesn’t know is that Joey has fallen into German hands—in particular, those of a horse lover named Capt. Muller (a nuanced Andrew May), who does what he can to keep this beautiful animal away from the battlefield.

There are complications and close calls throughout the adventure, some of them quite harrowing. Even so, most viewers will have little trouble predicting how it will come out. As a result, the main surprises involve the way the tale is told, rather than the tale itself.

Besides the puppeteers, the real heroes are behind-the-scenes talents such as set designer Rae Smith, lighting designers Paule Constable and Karen Spahn, and “horse” choreographer Toby Sedgwick. An onstage singer (Megan Loomis replaced regular vocalist John Milosich on opening night) also plays an influential role by contributing mournful folk-style tunes.

War Horse is melodrama—melodrama that is sometimes overdone and ultimately predictable. But for most viewers, the innovative staging should make it a memorable ride.

Broadway in Columbus and CAPA will present War Horse through Sunday (April 28) at the Ohio Theatre, 39 E. State St. Show times are 8 p.m. Wednesday and Friday, 1 and 8 p.m. Thursday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. Sunday. Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes (including intermission). Tickets are $35-$95. 614-469-0939, 1-800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.