HEMINGWAY
US, 2020, 3X 120 minutes, Colour.
Narrated by Peter Coyote, voices of: Jeff Daniels, Keri Russell, Patricia Clarkson.
Directed by Ken Burns.
Ken Burns, expert documentary maker, along with his partner, Lynn Novick, has compiled many long documentaries including a survey of the American Civil War. This time they have three episodes of two hours length to cover the life and career of Ernest Hemingway. They have found an extraordinary amount of contemporary film footage to illustrate the first 30 years of Hemingway’s life, a great number of photos, documents. They also have a number of talking heads, some novelists like Tobias Wolff and Edna O’Brien and a lot of biographers as well as writers on literature.
By the beginning of part two, audiences will have very mixed feelings about Ernest Hemingway himself. And, as the documentary progresses, he becomes more and more unlikable, to his wives, to his sons, to many friends, and, definitely, to the audience. There is continued admiration for his work, despite’s the ups and downs of its quality, but, he does not ingratiate himself to the audience – who will be somewhat mystified by the four women he married, their attraction to him, the conflicts, physical and psychological, and his passionate attraction to other women.
As the film continues, and we realise that Hemingway experienced injuries in World War I, at several accidents, many falls, many due to his excessive drinking, two plane crashes in Africa, which affected his health, injuries to his brain, psychological depression – coupled with his propensity for contemplating suicide.
Which means then that the audience gets some detail of the succeeding years in Hemingway’s life, family background in Chicago, parents and relationships, education, his journalistic work and writing, his participation in World War I, Italy, wounded, recovery, return. The information is given about his writing of short stories, examples of his articles for papers, especially in Kansas City. There are also visualisations of a number of his short stories from his collection In Our Time, the motivation for writing The Sun Also Rises, friends and advice, Sherwood Anderson, F Scott Fitzgerald, his publisher and his writing a satire on Sherwood Anderson to get out of his publishing contract and move to Charles Scribner and the advice of editor Max Perkins. Which worked very well for his writing and publication of his World War I drama, A Farewell to Arms, large amounts of money paid for civilisation as well as by Paramount for the film version with Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes.
The second part of the series focuses on 1929 to 1944. Hemingway has moved from Paris to the United States but here we see him travelling especially to Spain, the opening up of his passion for bullfighting. He also visits Africa and goes hunting. And, this time, he falls in love with Pauline, separating from Hadley, marrying Pauline, a Catholic, who had set her eyes on Hemingway and accompanies him in his travels. She shares his passion for hunting. And they have two children, especially Patrick, who is interviewed throughout the film, interesting comment on his parents, bonding with his father, clashes with his father. Hemming also publishes books on Africa.
Then comes the Spanish Civil War, his encounter with Martha Gellhorn, his infatuation with her, alienation from Pauline, fights and clashes, accompanying Gellhorn to Spain, both of them reporting on the war. For Hemingway, the result will be For Whom the Bell Tolls (filmed in 1943). But there is a tension between himself and Martha Gellhorn. This is aggravated by the outbreak of World War II, her being commissioned to report on the war from London. Rivalry and jealousy have risen between them and Hemingway organises himself to cover the war and to reach England before Gellhorn. (There is a film, Hemingway and Gellhorn starring Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman.)
And, this is the time, that Hemingway moved between Miami and Cuba, setting himself up in house there outside Havana.
The third part of the film extends from 1944 to Hemingway’s death in 1961. By this time he was alienated from Martha Gellhorn and acrimonious towards her. But, he encountered Mary in Paris, she wanting to marry him – and her becoming his fourth wife. They had strong ups and downs over the years of their marriage, Mary often threatening to leave, the film quoting a strong letter commenting on his personality and her motivations – but she stayed, supporting him until the end.
His other sons were growing older and there was problem with Gregory, cross-dressing, sexual issues, Pauline involved and Gregory coming to hate his father and work against him.
There is also the problem of Hemingway’s mental health, the number of falls and concussions he experienced, the two crashes in Africa, falling out of vehicles, and the effect on his brain, the background to his mental depression and suicidal tendencies. The film emphasises his excessive drinking.
One of the benefits of this experience in Cuba at the beginning of the 1950s is his writing The Old Man and the Sea. Generally acclaimed, and Hemingway winning the Nobel Prize in 1954, unable to go to Stockholm but making a speech, reminding audiences about his hesitation in making speeches, often stilted in delivery.
This is also the period of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, Hemingway moving from Cuba to the United States – eventually leaving everything behind.
There were criticisms about his writing, there are articles, short stories, some praise, some denunciations. But, it was during this period that he wrote his reminiscences about his early years, A Movable Feast, edited by Mary and welcomed after his death.
Hemingway continued to travel, to Spain, two Africa, relishing the hunting, accompanied by Mary.
But, there were times when he was committed to the Mayo Clinic for treatment, serious, eventually released. However, in July 1961, depressed, he killed himself.
Some commentators have praised the film for providing such an awareness of Hemingway, his literary achievement as well as insight into his personality. Some have said that it skips the surface, is superficial. However, over six hours, with so much commentary and so much illustration of the books themselves, the writing, death themes, Hemingway’s involvement, there is more than ample indication from the film and the talking heads for the audiences to do depth responses. Any superficiality might be on the part of a viewer who does not respond to the information given.
A lot of attention is given to Hemingway’s writing style, clear, direct, succinct.
But a lot of attention is also given to his attitude towards life, towards depression, a preoccupation with suicide, his father and siblings killing themselves, various quotes about his disdain for cowardice and suicide – which we always listen to in the light of Hemingway ultimately killing himself.
