Genre: Romance/War
Director: Joe Wright
Writer: Chad Taylor
Based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Carey Mulligan, Claire Foy, Lorenzo Richelmy, Leslie Manville, Mark Rylance
Plot: World War I. Frederic Henry (Gyllenhaal) is an American paramedic serving in an ambulance division of the Italian Army. His friend Lt. Rinaldi (Richelmy), an Italian surgeon, sets up a double date with two British nurses after running into them in the city. Although Rinaldi intended for Fred to go for Helen Ferguson (Foy), he instead falls hard for Catherine Barkley (Mulligan). He learns that she was previously engaged but her fiancée died in the Battle of the Somme. While their flirtations are only surface level, his affection for her is clear.
As the snows clear, it is time for the offensive to begin again, and Fred goes with his three ambulances to a post in the mountains. During the first night here, there is a bombardment and Fred is seriously wounded in the legs. One of his drivers is also wounded and another is killed. Fred is then sent to a hospital in Milan.
When he arrives, doctors recommend that he stay in bed for six months and then undergo a necessary operation on his knee. Unable to accept such a long period of recovery, Fred is able to convince talkative Dr. Graham (Rylance) to operate on him immediately. Fred is joyous at the news that Catherine, along with her friend Helen, has been transferred to Milan and begins his recuperation under her care. During the following months, his relationship with Catherine intensifies. Before long, Fred is walking on crutches and going to restaurants with Catherine. She works the night shift so they can be together at night. Their relationship shifts from cute and playful to powerful and real. Preventing their relationship from fully blooming is Fred’s burgeoning alcoholism.
Once recovered, Fred is granted a three week leave after which he is scheduled to return to the front. He tries to plan a trip with Catherine, who reveals to him that she is pregnant. The following day, Fred is diagnosed with jaundice, and Miss Van Campen (Manville), the superintendent of the hospital, accuses him of bringing the disease on himself through excessive drinking. Believing his illness to be an attempt to avoid his duty as a serviceman, Miss Van Campen has Fred’s leave revoked, and he is sent to the front once the jaundice has cleared. Before he returns to the front, Fred and Catherine spend a night together in a hotel. He leaves on a train in the middle of the night to return to Gorizia.
There are fewer people at Gorizia and the town is not as cheerful. Fred’s division are morally defeated and Rinaldi has become more depressed. He makes a scene in the mess hall, and Fred tries to calm his nerves. The next day Fred reports to a mountain post to find his ambulance team. That night there is an Austrian attack and they are forced to retreat. After a couple of days, a traffic jam is created from all the people retreating. Fred directs his three trucks to take a side road. Soon after, the trucks become stuck. When one of their vehicles bogs down in the mud, Fred orders the two engineers to help in the effort to free the vehicle. When they refuse, he shoots one of them to express his anger at their insubordination. They must continue on foot. Soon after, another driver wanders off to surrender himself .
After a day, Fred and his last driver finally reach the Italian army. When they rejoin the retreat the following day, chaos has broken out: soldiers, angered by the Italian defeat, pull commanding officers from the melee and execute them on sight. The Italian officers, afraid of German spies, are interrogating and shooting anyone who is not Italian. Although Rinaldi swears to protect him, they are separated and Fred must jump into the river to escape execution. After floating for a bit, he jumps on a train and rides it to Milan. He hides under a tarp used for artillery, hoping his war efforts are over, and dreams of a return to his love.
In Milan, he finds out that Catherine has gone to a town called Stresa near the Swiss border. He gets some new clothing from a friend and takes a train to Stresa. He checks into a hotel and finds Catherine with Helen. She is relieved at his survival and they are happy to be reunited. However, Helen isn't happy to see Fred because she doesn't trust him. They stay in Stresa for a day, but that night, the bartender (whom Fred has befriended) warns Fred that he is to be arrested in the morning. The bartender offers them his boat to row to Switzerland. The couple rows all night and arrives in Switzerland where they are first arrested, but later issued provisional visas.
Together, Catherine and Fred stay in the remote mountain town of Montreux. There is a montage of their time spent there - reading, hiking, chatting, etc. Catherine's pregnancy has matured and when the spring comes they move into a larger town. When Catherine goes into labor, they rush to the hospital. Even though it is early in the morning when they arrive, Catherine still hasn't delivered the baby by noon. The doctor suggests a caesarian. The delivery is exceptionally painful and complicated. The operation seems to go well, but Fred soon finds out that Catherine has hemorrhaged and that the child was born dead, choked by its own umbilical cord. Later in the night, Catherine dies from repeated hemorrhaging. Fred stays at her side until she is gone.
He walks back to his hotel in the rain.
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