The Colt

It was Ok but in my opinion nothing to brag about. James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 2/5/2021

I loved this movie! I saw it when it first aired on Hallmark Channel back in July earlier this summer. I loved it so much that I went out and purchased the DVD.

The Colt is about a young union soldier who just lost his brother in a fight and shortly afterwords his mare gives birth to a colt. The men in the 1st Michigan infantry see luck and hope in the little colt.

Although some won't admit most of the men fall in love with the colt. If you saw and liked Glory and Gods and Generals then I think you'll love The Colt! You can now buy it on DVD and VHS and also it was on yesterday on Hallmark!

I was leery of the title, as it sounded somewhat sentimental, yet our local librarian recommended my selection. Good call. This movie, unlike some Civil War movies, offers a real look at the humanity behind the soldier. What is mesmerizing is how the birth of a colt to an army mare changed the persona of the unit. The colt has all sorts of symbolism: new life among death; hope; redemption; promise. I hope to find a copy of the short story the film is based on and compare it to this film. One of the best scenes is when Jim, the main character, is sharing a meal with a farm family and as he describes his home state, he breaks down in tears from homesickness and despair. A touching and revealing film. A different look at the Civil War. While the ending is a horrible surprise, it is fitting for the irony portrayed throughout the film.

THE COLT presented in a straightforward manner the tragedies of war from the individual soldier's point of view, on both sides. Important message for children to understand is that there are "good guys", decent human beings, on both sides. (This reminded me of some of Tolstoi's scenes in WAR and PEACE where one sees other individual soldiers struggling with the horrors of war).

The interplay between this wonderful little animal and the soldiers was another effective way to teach children about caring for something more vulnerable and innocent than ourselves.

I found the cinematography very beautiful at times and would enjoy sharing this film with many other friends and family, preferably with commercials left to the end or presented at the beginning.

My wife loves horses and thought she remembered seeing this movie on TV many years ago. We couldn't find it for free to watch anywhere online but happened across the DVD version in a store and were excited to watch. The disc was clearly labeled as a Hallmark production but the rating said 'Not Rated'. We are old-school and do not watch anything that isn't family friendly, so I usually look movies up online before watching. The IMDB rating is TV-PG, which is about as mild as you can get, and there was no warning of anything objectionable.

We were shocked to start watching the DVD and heard three clear GD's within the first 10 minutes. This is not, in our home anyway, family-friendly language. We turned it off and did not watch the rest, so can't comment on how many more instances of profanity there might be. No doubt this was all edited out of the TV version.

I realize this kind of language is okay with many people these days but also know there are many others like us who still consider profanity to be R-rated material and would have appreciated a warning.