Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure

Attesting to the fact that "Papa" was, indeed, a rolling stone, intrepid author-comedian-world traveler Michael Palin once again takes up his shaving kit and mosquito repellent, this time to follow in the boisterous footsteps of American literature's favorite bad boy Ernest Hemingway. Palin's Pythonesque humor and genuine insights into his beloved idol make for an informative and entertaining journey that takes viewers on a multicontinental tour. Stops include Hemingway's suburban Illinois birthplace; the area outside Milan, Italy where Hemingway saw action (and was wounded) as a WWI ambulance driver; his loft during his expatriate years in Paris (Hemingway deferred to the Francophile taste in food and art, but little else), which--at the time of the filming--was up for sale for roughly $170,000; and several key hunting and fishing (and drinking and carousing) grounds--Pamplona, Spain, where Papa put the rather inane extreme sport of running with the bulls on the map; the big game safari plains in Africa's Kenya; the deep sea fishing haunts of Key West and Cuba; and the secluded wilderness retreats of the aging and depressed writer's final years in Montana and Idaho. While this will be six-toed cat(nip) to Hemingway aficionados, general viewers will also find much to appreciate here. This is a solid addition to the growing Palin pantheon of great travel adventures, which include: Full Circle with Michael Palin (VL-5/98), Pole to Pole (VL-4/93) and Around the World in 80 Days. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)