Parents' Guide to Across the River and Into the Trees

Movie NR 2024 106 minutes
Across the River and Into the Trees movie poster: Matilda De Angelis and Liev Schrieber stand together on a Venetian bridge

Common Sense Media Review

Tara McNamara By Tara McNamara , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

Hemingway-based WW2 drama has smoking, swearing.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Across the River and Into the Trees Trailer
  • Across the River and Into the Trees movie: Matilda De Angelis holds hands with Liev Schreiber at a fancy restaurant
  • Across the River and Into the Trees movie: Josh Hutcherson and Liev Schreiber, dressed in Army clothes, talk to a woman
  • Across the River and Into the Trees movie: Two men speak next to an Italian gondola on dry land

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 1 kid review

 

 

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What's the Story?

In ACROSS THE RIVER AND INTO THE TREES, World War II is winding down, and war hero Col. Richard Cantwell (Liev Schreiber) is taking a weekend sabbatical in Venice. While he's looking forward to being alone so that he can see an old friend and go duck hunting, Cantwell can't get away from his driver, Jackson (Josh Hutcherson), or the lovely young Italian Contessa Renata (Matilda de Angelis), who'd apparently rather spend her days with Cantwell than with her fiancé. The film is based on the same-named 1950 Ernest Hemingway novel.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say ( 1 ):

Diverging from Hemingway's original story, director Paula Ortiz delivers a solid but not sensational character study that reflects on the foggy ethics of war, even when war is the only way out. Weaving in his real-life experiences as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross during World War I, Hemingway chiseled out a character in Across the River and Into the Trees who reeked of truth, as well as the sickly smell of stale cigarettes and last night's whiskey. But while following a trail of Easter eggs about Hemingway's life might be fun for literature fans, most teens will be lost. They likely won't be able to connect with Cantwell as he faces the summation of his life and might be puzzled by the idea of the Contessa abandoning her fiancé in his favor. Plus, some of the movie's conversations are so coded that they're confusing (though some might open up conversations about history—i.e., why are the Italians celebrating an American war hero after World War II?).

What does translate well is the astonishing beauty of Venice. The Italian city is filmed with stunning cinematography, offering an eyeful of locations both glamorous and common. Venice isn't just depicted from the typical tourist's point of view, but as a city where people live and work. As either a moving story or an exploration of Hemingway's works, this story about one man's march toward death doesn't have too much for teens to get into, but as a way to excite and entice anyone interested in traveling to The Floating City, it overdelivers.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether you consider Cantwell a role model in Across the River and Into the Trees. How does he demonstrate courage? What about Jackson? Is he a role model? How would you tell the same story from his point of view?

  • If you haven't read the original book, look up a synopsis, and then discuss what moments were changed in the film adaptation. Do you think changes made the cinematic version stronger, or weaker?

  • Are smoking or drinking glamorized? Does the fact that some of the substance use is historically accurate change the impact of seeing it in a film today?

  • What defines a "hero"? Who are your heroes?

  • Talk about Hemingway's writing style and the common themes in his works. How does Across the River and Into the Woods compare to his other works (or movies based on them)?

Movie Details

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Across the River and Into the Trees movie poster: Matilda De Angelis and Liev Schrieber stand together on a Venetian bridge

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