In Love and War

In Love and War is a quiet romantic film based on the true story of the 18-year-old budding writer Ernest Hemingway's experiences as an American volunteer in Italy during the First World War. The adventurous Ernest, who is supposed to help with supplies, immediately seeks out the trenches, whereupon sheer chaos follows. Ernest is wounded in the leg while trying to get a mortally wounded soldier to safety. For his deed Ernest is honoured with a medal, but what is more, at the hospital he meets the American nurse Agnes von Kurowsky, eight years his senior, with whom he falls hopelessly in love.

After a long courtship Agnes is finally convinced that Ernest is serious, so they become engaged. The fighting separates them, however, and Ernest's absence gives Agnes other, seemingly more sensible ideas. The charming Italian doctor and rich man Caracchio is utterly smitten with her and gets her to give up Ernest. When she regrets it, it is too late, though one doesn't quite understand why. The film has not previously given the viewers any impression of Ernest's enormous pride.

In Love and War is of interest first and foremost because the protagonist is a celebrity with a turbulent life. The dialogue and staging cannot be faulted, but the plot itself is a little anaemic, and as a viewer it remains a mystery why on earth the couple couldn't get back together.