1st watched 2/6/2010 - 7 out of 10 (Dir-Martin Ritt): Well executed drama about the life of a young man and how he became an adult thru his various experiences. The movie is based on some of Earnest Hemingway's stories and is somewhat autobiographical(which it seems like most of his stuff is). Anyway, this one is about a 19-year old boy named Nick Adams, played by Richard Beymer of West Side Story fame, who runs away from home in an attempt to get to New York and become a newspaper writer. He has no idea what he's getting into but he knows his experiences will help him somehow be what he wants to be. He eventually makes it there(after a couple of adventures with various characters), but is turned down by the newspaper companies saying he needs more experience of the work and life kind. He then ends up volunteering for the Italian army as an ambulance driver(mostly for the life experience but also because a pretty girl initiates the request) and gets more than he ever expected. People die near him, he falls in love and loses her to death, he gets wounded and all of the sudden you have a very experienced man by the time it's all over. The acting is first-rate throughout the whole movie and the direction is perfect for the story -- letting us follow it without too much added un-necessary touches. It's done very simply without much of a soundtrack either making it like we're watching life unfold before our eyes. The story overall is not that uplifting but it's real -- which is usually pretty hand to find in American productions. An overall very well made movie that keeps you interested throughout with many well laid-out characters on this Hemingway story turned to film.
