Ernest Hemingway’s legacy on the American literary world cannot be understated. However, with the PBS documentary Hemingway, you get a glimpse of Hemingway are more than just a champion of public letters. “The myth of Hemingway…obscures the man,” writer Michael Kitakis laments early on in the 6-hour documentary. His transformation from man to myth is documented in 3 2-hour segments: “A Writer,” “The Avatar,” and “The Blank Page.”
Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s exhaustive study is a definitive account of one of America’s most notable writers. Part 1’s “A Writer” includes the time from 1899 (Hemingway’s birth) to 1929, “The Avatar” 1929-1944, and “The Blank Page” 1944-1961 (Hemingway’s death).
The film follows a tight chronology, and details Hemingway’s various publications, marriages, trips to Europe, tragedies, and various other moments in the writer’s storied life. The film demands your attention, but for those who stick with it, it is a riveting look at one of America’s most gifted storytellers.
One thing that must be said about the documentary is that one should be familiar with Hemingway before diving into it. Burns and Novick clearly aren’t trying to win the acclaimed author any new fans. The documentary is also bolstered with celebrity narration, as Peter Coyote, Jeff Daniels, Keri Russell, Mary-Louise Parker, and others lend their talents to make Hemingway’s story come alive. Also included are, logically, writers including Tim O’Brien, Edna O’Brien, Mary Karr, and others who all discuss the writer’s influence on them and the literary world.
Hemingway paints a rich, yet exhaustive portrait of one of America’s most notable authors. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P.