Review №4

A Farewell to Arms 

A Farewell to Arms is a 1957 American drama film directed by Charles Vidor. It was the second feature film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's 1929 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name starred Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes. The setting of the story is Italy.

Let me pass on to the plot of the film. Frederick Henry was sent to Italy as a soldier. His friend Rinaldi introduced him to Catherine Barkley. They fell in love with each other and decided to get marry. The war is going on and they could not be together but the priest made them a husband and a wife. Cat became pregnant. Henry was wounded and sent to a military hospital. There he was nursed by Cat. Later they came to Switzerland where their child was stillborn, and Catherine died shortly afterward. Frederick leaved, shocked, and wandered the empty streets.   

I would like to mention the screenplay because I think it conveyed the atmosphere worse than the book. The relationship between Henry and Catherine developed quickly enough in the book but the screen writer made them lovers even faster. It seems strange for that period of time. The episodes from the book were cut and I do not see the reasonable reason. All in all, I did not enjoy the film because of the subdued events.

As for the acting I can say that I imagined the characters to be other people. I do not associate the actors with Frederick and Cat about whom I read the book. Their performance was not bad but it was not perfect at the same time. In my opinion, they played roles but were not the heroes of “A Farewell to Arms”. I think that the actors from “In Love and War” are more acceptable for the roles of the main characters.

In conclusion I would like to say that I do not like the film because my expectations were not realized. Of course the film is rather old but it is not an excuse. However, costumes and decoration were a big advantage to create the atmosphere.