24 March 2021 | ADAM RATHE | Town & Country (original link)
When Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s new documentary series Hemingway premieres on PBS on April 5, the three-part, six-hour story will feature the talents of Jeff Daniels, Meryl Streep, Keri Russell, Mary-Louise Parker, and Patricia Clarkson—but despite the starry cast, there’s no question about who the main attraction here truly is.
The series tells Ernest Hemingway’s life story using biographical events, excerpts from some of his most beloved works, and interviews with scholars, friends, enemies, and family members to help create a full picture of a man who became the world’s most famous writer and whose legacy still bewitches and confounds us today.
“Hemingway is both an intimate, turbulent family saga and an examination of some of the greatest works of American literature in the 20th century,” Burns says. “The documentary attempts to go beyond prevailing assumptions about Ernest Hemingway and his writing. At the same time, we are unsparing in our inquiry into less well-known aspects of his character and writing. Our intent is to offer viewers an honest portrayal of a complex and conflicted writer who left an indelible mark on literature.”
Here, Town & Country is pleased to premiere an exclusive first look at the series, a clip detailing Hemingway’s time at Finca Vigía, the home in Havana where the writer lived, worked, and did some of his most enduring myth making.
The full series premieres April 5 on PBS and will run through April 7, with a two-hour block screening each evening.
