A&E’s feature-length biography series looks at one of the most iconic figures of the 20th century, Ernest Hemingway. Through a series of stills, narration by granddaughter Marielle Hemingway, commentary by author AE Hotchner and publisher Charles Scribner, and Scott Glenn’s review of Hemingway’s work, including personal letters and unpublished work Read aloud, the film takes us back to the Midwestern roots of the man’s childhood, and the tragic suicide is a bittersweet lament for what could otherwise be considered a life of accomplishment.
With the limited amount of real media about his life, die-hard Hemingway fans will find some images and sounds superfluous, but for passive fans, the film is packed with fascinating insights into the life of the Nobel Prize winner. The film clearly portrays a man who wasn’t always perfect – his infidelities in numerous marriages, tumultuous relationships with children, and political views that didn’t always align with public opinion are just some of the blemishes. Its full force emerges and deepens here.
Texts from his more famous works—A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Sea—read through along with a dozen stories of a life worth living from Hemingway’s collection of experiences. Through the almost unfathomable tapestry, it is believed that this is the story of most people, the story of the great fisherman. Hemingway’s willingness to take part in some of the bloodiest wars of the modern era – World Wars I and II, known as the Spanish Civil War – influenced a body of literature often seen as a reflection of these lowly experiences; crime and Pulp Fiction consist of crisp, concise prose that is said to be far more flexible than the text you’re reading here.
Whether you’ve read all of his books multiple times or just skimmed one or two, you’re sure to learn something new and interesting about the life of Ernest Hemingway from this biography.
