AND LASTLY A CLASSIC : "A FAREWELL TO ARMS"

I wondered for a while what I should do with this film. I mean watch it, obviously, but where to put the review? Adaptation? War Film? Although Hemmingway’s classic is by no means to be sneezed at, the presence of the First World War in the film is, well… Great. On the other hand, it is basically a love story. It doesn’t handle the war itself that much. I mean it does, but sort of, as a backdrop. There are clear mentions of the horrors of war (being in a field hospital and all) but they are not our “main concerns”. Then there is the autobiography side of things, Hemmingway, like the hero of the book / film was an ambulance driver in the First World War and thus the book is assumed to be quite autobiographical – wait, should it be under “true story” then? But then again how autobiographical is it really? Are you beginning to see my dilemma? Then I finally reached a solution. Would this great love story be possible without the presence of war? No. Then the war is a major catalyst of the film. War film it is.
So, having got over that little quandary, on with the story. Frederic (Gary Cooper) is an ambulance driver in Italy during the First World War. He arrives at a small hospital in Italy to find two things. First, a very old friend of his as the doctor in charge, secondly, one of the most beautiful women he has ever seen (Helen Hayes) as one of the nurses. Frederic is bowled over by her, and his feelings are by no means unreciprocated. But there are complications… Quite apart from the dangers inherent to their jobs and the war, there is a third party also interested in ?? and who cannot “give her up” to Frederic… Will true love triumph? Or will the war consume the star-crossed lovers as well?
Mom and I watched the film together. As the film ended and we both dabbed our eyes and blew our noses Mom turned round to me and said “Of course, it’s so romantic you can’t really take it seriously.” Yeah, right Mom. But, the emotional nature of the film apart, she is right in a way. I mean, of course you get caught up in the whole thing and get weepy, especially if you’re in the right mood. But the film is, you have to remember, made in 1933. That is a LONG time ago by filmic standards. Thus there are many “problems” to the film as well. Starting from the basics (the film is so old that you can virtually see NOTHING in bits that are underexposed) to thematic (there is one sequence that is supposed to symbolize the horrors of war that in our modern times look absolutely comical – and it goes on for far too long for my liking). But then again, love, no matter how it is filmed is still love. And the emotion is definitely there with Hayes and Cooper, two brilliant actors of their time of course… It is not your average war film. It is, however, a true blue classic that any cinema lover should NOT miss…