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A Farewell to Arms

A Farewell to Arms

Drama · Romance · War · 1932

A tale of the World War I love affair, begun in Italy, between American ambulance driver Lt. Frederic Henry and British nurse Catherine Barkley. Eventually separated by Frederic's transfer, tremendous challenges and difficult decisions face each as the war rages on.

Movie details

A Farewell to Arms

“Every woman who has loved will understand”

1932 Drama · Romance · War 1h 29m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

A tale of the World War I love affair, begun in Italy, between American ambulance driver Lt. Frederic Henry and British nurse Catherine Barkley. Eventually separated by Frederic's transfer, tremendous challenges and difficult decisions face each as the war rages on.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over A Farewell to Arms?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Frank Borzage

Written by

Benjamin Glazer · Oliver H.P. Garrett

Helen Hayes

Helen Hayes

Catherine Barkley

Gary Cooper

Gary Cooper

Lt. Frederic Henry

Adolphe Menjou

Adolphe Menjou

Major Rinaldi

Mary Philips

Mary Philips

Helen Ferguson

Jack La Rue

Jack La Rue

Priest

Blanche Friderici

Blanche Friderici

Head Nurse

Mary Forbes

Mary Forbes

Miss Van Campen

Court is in session

Put A Farewell to Arms on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.