Movie Review: The Sun Also Rises (1957)

The Sun Also Rises (1957) directed by Henry King

Jake Barnes (Tyrone Power) is an American ex-pat living in Paris in the early 1920s as a reporter. He along with a lot of friends fought in World War I and didn't go home. They live a bohemian lifestyle though he is less debauched, perhaps due to a war injury that's left him impotent. His WWI nurse, Brett Ashley (Ava Gardner), took a liking to him at the hospital and still shows up occasionally in his life. They both know their relationship will never work but she keeps coming back after having flings with other men, often in other cities. Now she's engaged to an Englishman (Errol Flynn) who is more jealous and drunk than anything else. Brett catches the eye of Jake's friend Robert (Mel Ferrer), who starts following them around like a lovesick puppy. Jake can't stand the situation and heads off for his usual July holiday in Spain with writer buddy Bill Gorton (Eddie Albert). They go fishing in the mountains before heading to the Pamplona festival, with its drinking and bullfights. The rest of the Paris gang shows up in Pamplona, leading to more drinking and painful interpersonal encounters.

The movie has the feel of a literary prestige picture, like Gone With the Wind or The Best Years of Our Lives. It's a Technicolor Cinemascope production that captures the running of the bulls and the drama of the bull fights (without the gore) and the romance of little Parisian bars. The characters look larger than life. But they don't quite convince. As the Lost Generation, they should look like they are living life to the fullest, but the emptiness of their existence is all too apparent. I have not read the book by Ernest Hemingway so I don't know if the story is meant to be this bleak. The actors are good but they look a little old for the roles and the tone is off.

Not recommended. There's better Hemingway adaptations and better big budget literary adaptations.