rewatching it last night, I wondered what war they were in
This was the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
Hemingway was a journalist, attracted to adventure, and to war. He was a volunteer ambulance driver in Italy during World War I, where he was wounded by shrapnel in both legs. Then he was in Spain during much of the civil war there, as a journalist. He hunted on safari in Africa, and was enthralled by bullfighting in Spain and Mexico.
The movie, especially in its flashbacks, borrows from a number of different stories and novels by Hemingway in addition to his short story
The Snows of Kilimanjaro, many of which were semi-autobiographical. Since the movie is an agglomeration from several unrelated stories and Hemingway's nonfiction book
Death in the Afternoon, there is no "why" Cynthia ended up driving an ambulance, or "how" Harry knew to find her - you just have to accept the way the script is thrown together from these disparate sources.
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zuzupetal_99
10 years ago
I appreciate you taking the time to answer! Thank you, what you said makes sense.
"Are you going to your grave with unlived lives in your veins?" ~ The Good Girl
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