review for A Time to Love and a Time to Die on AllMovie

A haunting if imperfect meditation on the human horrors of war and its effect on the romance of two ordinary people, A Time to Love and a Time to Die is a film whose assets and deficits war with each other. Among its negatives, Time is not only too long but takes too long to get started. Director Douglas Sirk is clearly making a deliberate choice with his pacing, but the fits-and-starts aspect of it will frustrate many viewers, and ultimately the slowness doesn't quite pay off in the manner that Sirk desired. More problematic is male lead John Gavin, whose uninspired performance makes one appreciate all the more just how important Sirk's preferred male lead, Rock Hudson, was in the success of their collaborations. Gavin looks great and he tries, but he simply lacks the charisma that the part demands. On the plus side, Sirk is taking care to present a story that demonstrates that both sides in a conflict have individuals who are simply ordinary humans forced into an untenable situation and whose lives are turned upside down and torn apart by circumstances beyond their control. Lilo Pulver is quite good as Gavin's lover, and Keenan Wynn and Thayer David also turn in notable performances. And it goes without saying that Sirk, along with cinematographer Russell Metty, has worked the visual magic that one expects of the director. If Time is not totally successful, it nevertheless has mesmerizing moments and is worth watching.