The 1957 A Farewell to Arms film directed by Charles Vidor was a delightful film that tied together the excellent writing of Ernest Hemingway perfectly. Something that is mentioned at the very beginning of the film is that this story is a love story, not a war story. This allows the viewers to not expect many harsh visual focusing on the war but rather allows us to remember to focus on our main characters and the journey they go through. Throughout the entire film we see a wide range of different landscapes. Specifically in the opening credits we get to see the beautiful scenery of Italy that sets the viewer up for where we are and where this film will begin. For a 65-year-old film, the visuals and camera quality are amazing. I was very impressed on how clear the scene was and how nicely edited the film was. If I did not know the year this film was released, I could honestly say I would think this film came out in at least the 1990’s. If you are debating on whether you want to watch the film first or read the book first, definitely read the book first. It was interesting to watch how scenes played out in an actual visual. I felt as though this gave me a clearer opinion of certain events or conversations that occurred in the book. Although the story line was the same as the original writing of Hemingway, there were some minor changes that you will only pick up on if you read the book prior to viewing the film. I do not believe these changes took away from the story but added a deeper meaning to the story line. In this film there was foreshadowing of something very important. I do not want to spoil it for those who have not read the book to understand the importance but as you watch, try focusing on the visuals of children within the film and how they are represented throughout. It will give a lot of contexts to a big moment in the film. Rock Hudson, who played as Fredric Henry, was able to really capture the role as Henry. He was a natural for this role and seemed to give his all within his performance. Jennifer Jones, who played as Catherine Barkley, also tapped into the role of Catherine perfectly. While at first, I discredited her acting in certain scenes, I realized that based on Catherine’s personality, she mirrored her exactly as she would have behaved. The chemistry between Hudson and Jones was strong and it showed throughout the entire film. It was as though they were genuinely in love and going through all there obstacles together. This really made the viewer feel sympathy for the two all throughout the movie. One thing that seemed very interesting was the feel that time was going by so quickly, compared to in the novel time was slowed down. I appreciated this in the film because there was not a bunch of fluff throughout it and the transition of new scenes had a pace that was not confusing to the viewer. Overall, the film was very well put together and was a direct visual that demonstrated the truth behind Hemingway’s words. I leave you with one quote from the film and the novel, “You never have a chance to learn”. As you watch this film, keep that in mind, it is amazing how much power those seven words have.