05/28/06 A Farewell To Arms

A Farewell To Arms (1932), directed by Frank Borzage

watched w/ Leslie (partially); VHS (borrowed from parents) @ home

Having recently read Hemingway's classic "The Sun Also Rises," I was interested in looking for some old film adaptations of his works. I came across this copy at my parents' house, so I decided to give it a look. The story is a difficult tale of love set during World War I, where American Lt. Henry (Gary Cooper) is serving with an Italian ambulance corps and falls in love with English nurse Catherine Barkley (Helen Hayes). Fighting in the horrors of a war, as well as fighting to keep in contact with each other against all odds serves as the ultimate challenge for both of the tormented lovers. Knowing the complications that a love affair can have on a man's psyche during war, Lt. Henry's companion Maj. Rinaldi tries to keep the two apart by intercepting their mail correspondence. Never knowing exactly where each other are, or whether or not they still are searching for the other; Lt. Henry and Catherine are forced to be star-crossed paramours. Once Lt. Henry finally tracks Catherine down, he learns that she is pregnant with his child. To finish this terribly tragic affair, he reunites with her on her hospital bed upon delivery...where she subsequently dies from trauma during the birth. Boy, Hemingway always had a way with tragedy internal-struggle didn't he?! I thought that this early black & white film was shot brilliantly in the landscape, and was a decent adaptation of his work. Not having read the novel, it does seem that some critique can lie in the fact that the film chooses not to focus more on the anti-war thematic elements of Lt. Henry's agony, but rather the romance between the lovers. It seems to be the shred of hope that both cling to, to get through the pain that is all around them.

3 out of 5 stars