"For Whom the Bell Tolls" is such a classic of American literature that I am disarmed by the prospect of reviewing its 1943 adaptation by Sam Wood. Ernest Hemingway, Nobel Prize-winner wrote so many classics rooted in his experience of war and more generally the globe-trotting adventure his life was, that my appreciation of the film, would only be limited to the observation of a few Hollywood idiosyncrasies injected within a story of much complex magnitude. I assume that one of the key-elements of the story resides within the existential tension tearing the soul of Robert Jordan, an International Brigades volunteer and dynamiter working for the Spanish Republican Army and whose mission is to blow up a strategic bridge.
Anyway, I watched many classics without reading the original books so this one shouldn't be an exception. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (the movie) invites from its very opening quotation the viewer not to cheer, weep or wish for someone's death, any death is one of humanity and that war, while not being futile, can never end with a proper victory. This injunction allows us to set a new mindset on warfare as a predicament that brings the worst and that the only reason to take side is when one cause can prevent a war. This is a less an idea of righteousness but of practicality and it is essential not just on a narrative level but because it makes a connection with the war against the Nazis. The book was written in 1940 when USA hadn't entered the war, things had naturally changed in 43.
A victory of the fascist regime would pave the way to the downfall of Europe. On that level, Jordan is not a mercenary but a crusader. The film doesn't preach its cause but exposes it through the varying degrees of motivation within a gallery of colorful characters among which Cooper is a tower of virile steadiness? There's Anselmo, the guide (Vladimir Sokoloff), Rafael, the cheerful gypsy (Mikail Rasummy), Fernando (Fortunio Bonanova). The pillar of the group is the fittingly named Pilar (Katina Panixou) a fighting woman who carries more strength and courage than all the other men including her husband Pablo (Akim Tamiroff) who's past his prime and seems more driven by an instinct of conservation than caution, when does one end and cowardice start is besides the point, Pilar carries the flame for two.
Paxinou (who'd win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress) is one of these characters that make the film, like Walter Huston in "The Trasure of the Sierra Madre", she's the soul, heart and a muscle in her own right. She's seen wars, and is so aware of the vulnerability of men in life-and-death situations, not to trust anyone, except for the American Roberto, because his presence alone is a guarantee. Oscar-nominated Tamiroff as Pablo, has a wobbly sense of duty and courage, his character-establishing moment occurs when Pilar literally takes the leadership of the group, when she can spot fear in him, surely a woman can read hands can read much better in eyes. Oscar-nominated Tamiroff is the most ambiguous character and splendidly contrasts with the solid stoicism of Jordan, his blasé attitude speaking volumes about the capability of bravery to desert a man's soul like a soldier his troop.
Not to let the story enclosed behind these rocky clandestine mountain headquarters, there is Maria, Ingrid Bergman at her most innocent and fragile, her hair cut so that she has the look of a little boy. She's a young refugees who falls instantly in love with Jordan. It's strange but when you love, something attaches you to life and makes the idea of death even tougher, it's the irony of facts that war is won by people who don't fear death while love makes you fear it, love is the rebirth of humanity, war its antithesis. Robert can hardly downplay his sentiments but there's a sense of emotional restraint in Cooper that makes him the perfect hero for the film (he was hand-picked by Hemingway) and his calmness is nervous enough not to fool us about the emotional turmoil burning in his heart until its implosion in a spectacular and convincing climactic battle The love story isn't exactly in the same level of passion than a certain role Bergman had in "Casablanca", and Dudley Nichols's script doesn't allow Cooper to shine beyond a certain archetype but it's another romance, another war, another story.
The minimalism of the scope makes the war closer to a guerrilla where men's principles and faith are put into a tough existential equation, where death can strike so quickly that it turns into something to accomplish, not to go through. That necessity raises the question of honor, integrity, bravery and It's interesting that the film's most vivid and powerful moment is the flashback told by Pilar about the previous revolution, when people could circle their former tyrants from the mayor office and one of them looking condescendingly at the vengeful crowd lost all dignity when he was thrown to the ravine. A sight of popular joy turns into a gross and morbid corrida of vengeance that turned the heroes off. When human life is so devalued that even the victory gets a pyrrhic taste. Beware of cheering your enemy's death for even it can mean the loss of your humanity, the bells might toll for thee.
Despite its length, the film manages to be consistently absorbing, mostly for the supporting players. And as someone who used to watch "Midnight Cinema" on French TV Sundays, with all the Hollywood legends' profiles scrolling under a beautiful violin music, It ended with Gary Cooper staring at Ingrid Bergman with her unforgettable short hair. I'm finally glad I could associate this image to a film, a classic of 1943, adapted from a classic I need to read now and definitely Golden Age material.
Anyway, I watched many classics without reading the original books so this one shouldn't be an exception. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (the movie) invites from its very opening quotation the viewer not to cheer, weep or wish for someone's death, any death is one of humanity and that war, while not being futile, can never end with a proper victory. This injunction allows us to set a new mindset on warfare as a predicament that brings the worst and that the only reason to take side is when one cause can prevent a war. This is a less an idea of righteousness but of practicality and it is essential not just on a narrative level but because it makes a connection with the war against the Nazis. The book was written in 1940 when USA hadn't entered the war, things had naturally changed in 43.
A victory of the fascist regime would pave the way to the downfall of Europe. On that level, Jordan is not a mercenary but a crusader. The film doesn't preach its cause but exposes it through the varying degrees of motivation within a gallery of colorful characters among which Cooper is a tower of virile steadiness? There's Anselmo, the guide (Vladimir Sokoloff), Rafael, the cheerful gypsy (Mikail Rasummy), Fernando (Fortunio Bonanova). The pillar of the group is the fittingly named Pilar (Katina Panixou) a fighting woman who carries more strength and courage than all the other men including her husband Pablo (Akim Tamiroff) who's past his prime and seems more driven by an instinct of conservation than caution, when does one end and cowardice start is besides the point, Pilar carries the flame for two.
Paxinou (who'd win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress) is one of these characters that make the film, like Walter Huston in "The Trasure of the Sierra Madre", she's the soul, heart and a muscle in her own right. She's seen wars, and is so aware of the vulnerability of men in life-and-death situations, not to trust anyone, except for the American Roberto, because his presence alone is a guarantee. Oscar-nominated Tamiroff as Pablo, has a wobbly sense of duty and courage, his character-establishing moment occurs when Pilar literally takes the leadership of the group, when she can spot fear in him, surely a woman can read hands can read much better in eyes. Oscar-nominated Tamiroff is the most ambiguous character and splendidly contrasts with the solid stoicism of Jordan, his blasé attitude speaking volumes about the capability of bravery to desert a man's soul like a soldier his troop.
Not to let the story enclosed behind these rocky clandestine mountain headquarters, there is Maria, Ingrid Bergman at her most innocent and fragile, her hair cut so that she has the look of a little boy. She's a young refugees who falls instantly in love with Jordan. It's strange but when you love, something attaches you to life and makes the idea of death even tougher, it's the irony of facts that war is won by people who don't fear death while love makes you fear it, love is the rebirth of humanity, war its antithesis. Robert can hardly downplay his sentiments but there's a sense of emotional restraint in Cooper that makes him the perfect hero for the film (he was hand-picked by Hemingway) and his calmness is nervous enough not to fool us about the emotional turmoil burning in his heart until its implosion in a spectacular and convincing climactic battle The love story isn't exactly in the same level of passion than a certain role Bergman had in "Casablanca", and Dudley Nichols's script doesn't allow Cooper to shine beyond a certain archetype but it's another romance, another war, another story.
The minimalism of the scope makes the war closer to a guerrilla where men's principles and faith are put into a tough existential equation, where death can strike so quickly that it turns into something to accomplish, not to go through. That necessity raises the question of honor, integrity, bravery and It's interesting that the film's most vivid and powerful moment is the flashback told by Pilar about the previous revolution, when people could circle their former tyrants from the mayor office and one of them looking condescendingly at the vengeful crowd lost all dignity when he was thrown to the ravine. A sight of popular joy turns into a gross and morbid corrida of vengeance that turned the heroes off. When human life is so devalued that even the victory gets a pyrrhic taste. Beware of cheering your enemy's death for even it can mean the loss of your humanity, the bells might toll for thee.
Despite its length, the film manages to be consistently absorbing, mostly for the supporting players. And as someone who used to watch "Midnight Cinema" on French TV Sundays, with all the Hollywood legends' profiles scrolling under a beautiful violin music, It ended with Gary Cooper staring at Ingrid Bergman with her unforgettable short hair. I'm finally glad I could associate this image to a film, a classic of 1943, adapted from a classic I need to read now and definitely Golden Age material.