ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, January 25, 1997             TAG: 9701280124
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 12   EDITION: METRO 
                                             TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT 

NOT MUCH OF AN AFFAIR, NOT MUCH OF A MOVIE

"In Love and War" is an uninspired romance that also suffers from extremely poor timing in its release.

It's a fact-based tale of love, war, medicine and Italy, and so comparisons to "The English Patient," however unfair, are inevitable. And where "The English Patient" is a subtle film about passion and pain, "In Love and War" is a fictionalized look at a short love affair that really didn't amount to much.

The setting is Italy, toward the end of World War I in 1918. American Red Cross volunteers go there to help the Italians against the Germans and Austrians. Agnes Von Kurowsky (Sandra Bullock) is a worldly 26-year-old nurse. Ernest Hemingway (Chris O'Donnell) is a 20-year-old pup so eager to see some action that he bicycles to the front lines at the first opportunity. And promptly finds himself in Agnes' hospital.

Henry Villard (Mackenzie Astin), an old college pal and also a patient there, becomes a rival as Ernest falls for his nurse. Then there's Dr. Caracciolo (Emilio Bonucci), who's also attracted to Agnes. The doctor is too old for her, but he's distinguished and rich; Ernest is too young, but he's passionate. What's a dedicated health care professional to do?

About the best that can be said of producer/director Richard Attenborough's approach is that he tells the story clearly and is always careful to flatter his stars. Bullock and O'Donnell have never looked more attractive on screen. That's really all there is to the film, because the two stars ignite absolutely no sexual sparks or chemistry.

The script is based on Henry Villard's book about the experiences that provided the basis for Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms." Whatever the "truth" of the slow film is, it doesn't capture the horrible realities of that war or the alleged passion behind the romance.

In Love and War

* 1/2

A New Line release playing at the Salem Valley 8 and Tanglewood Mall Theatre. 115 minutes. Rated PG-13 for subject matter and violence.

LENGTH: Short :   47 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  Chris O'Donnell and Sandra Bullock get serious in "In 
          Love and War." color.