Hemingway & Gellhorn

Owens and Kidman seemed to be going through the motions. Meh.

Philip Kaufman's direction and Nicole Kidman's superb acting are standouts in making this a great film. I very much like the way Kaufman created the illusion of history taking place before our eyes, the embedding of Kidman and Owen into archival footage with the filming of Kidman in both vintage-sepia toned film and color film. It's a bit hard to describe here, but anyone interested in how it was done and the effect it created should see the HBO clip on YouTube called "Hemingway & Gellhorn: Visual Effects Piece." I've seen a number of films set in the time period, the latest that comes to mind is Pan's Labyrinth, but none have made me feel I was inside the frame struggling to understand the action and effects of war the way this film did. I'm very grateful that the storyline so closely follows the historic reality of their lives. That is so rarely done. Being true to history generally means the audience has to accept that there is no 3-act play here. We can't fit these people's lives into the neat narrative that pleases most critics. To do so would force this film to be less than it turned out to be. There's a 1940's film (Arise, My Love) with Claudette Colbert playing a character said to have been inspired by Martha Gellhorn. It has a special romantic charm, and it follows the usual arc of romantic movies. It is fine in its own right to remake films like that, to alter the narrative to follow an arc, but this is not the aim of Hemingway & Gellhorn. Like life, it's a lot messier.I found Clive Owen excellent in the film. Some reviewers said he overacted or tried too hard, but that's actually who Hemingway was--a person who overdid, overplayed his own role in life. Really, what man in his late 30's wants to be known as "Papa" to his male friends? (The nickname was one he encouraged from the age of 26 or 27 according to first wife Hadley.) Hemingway created an image for himself that helped him define himself, but also stifled his ability to grow later in life. It probably didn't help that he was bipolar according to a diagnosis made in later years. Clive Owen captures the best and worst of Hemingway, no mean feat. He really deserves more credit that he got from critics. He was superb in the role.Right now, A Farewell to Arms (the film made from Hemingway's second novel) is available to view in Prime. The movie is referred to in the film both in the dialog and through its movie poster on Hemingway's wall. Also on Prime right now is the documentary referred to, The Spanish Earth. I can't say I've seen either, but it seems this is my chance so I thought I'd pass it along.

I admit that my interest in writing and wanting to see what it was like for a career woman in the earlier part of the 1900s indirectly influenced my interest to see this film Hemingway and Gelhorn. The positives; Both the characters of Ernest Hemingway (played by Clive Owen) and Martha Gelhorn (played by Nicole Kidman) are shown as two people who put much effort and boundless energy into their careers. The Hemingway and Gelhorn film shows that both of them (Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gelhorn)met at a club named Sloppy Joes. Both Hemingway and Gelhorn are seemingly drawn together even after Gelhorn relocates to another location for her career objectives. One of the things that makes the story between Martha Gelhorn and Ernest Hemingway eerily tragic is that both of them died in a similar manner in real life even after they both romantically moved on to other people and career objectives. This is despite the fact that Ernest Hemingway is listed online via Wikipedia to have been born July 21, 1899 and Martha Gelhorn is listed via Wikipedia to have been born November 8, 1908.

I've watched this flic over and over. Fictionalized bio of the great Hemingway from early days at the bar to the final blowout.

I just finished this picture and I loved it! I won't call myself a Hemingway scholar but I have over 100 books on Hemingway as well as everything he ever wrote plus Bio's Of Gellhorn as well. I think those who give this picture one star are missing the mark. No film covers every inch someone's life, it just is not possible. Sure this picture left out Sun Valley, it left out her interaction with the sons, all of whom liked her very much. But I thought it hit the highlights of their life togeather. I thought the romance was played very well along with the conflict of duling careers. Yes, he was more famous then she, but she stood the test of time in what she choose to be, A War Correspondent, not a novelist.There are some compelling scenes in this picture: The Russian Roulet scene with Duvall, the love scene between Hem and Marty while the building is being bombed is just outstanding! I loved the technology that allows the actors to be placed into actual footage from history. I fail to see how that is objectionable. Overall, I loved this picture and higly recomend it both for the history, the people and the romance. It's a good movie....not a great movie, but a good one!

Very good, close to bone: NAZIs back the fascist Nationalists, Soviets are backing the democratically elected Republicans. The Americans won't back the Republicans because the Russians are, except of course for the American volunteer Lincoln Brigade. Russians are their typical political types, like a big corporation except instead of firing you they shoot you and no one is really sure. Communists scare the hell out of the Americans, the Americans miss their chance to see what they will be facing and NAZIs get a chance to work the bugs out of their latest weapons and develop their tactical skills before they move on to the rest of Europe. Hemingway doesn't dominate the show but gets some good lines in, like when writing early in the morning (and always standing up) "Writing is like Mass, if you don't show up God gets mad." The Gellhorn (and Hemingway) get to go to the front lines, report what they see is the truth and shoot back if they feel like it. This is no work of art like Guernica, but tells a good story.

'If Papa Hemingway had wanted to share his adventures in Spain with a woman and not his wife, he found the companion he was looking for at Sloppy Joe's Bar in Key West. This brilliant film is what it is, its not a documentary and will have negative responses by a few, but it can leave you wanting to learn more about the life and times of Ernest Hemingway, and not surprisingly Martha Gellhorn too! I've been fascinated with Hemingway the man since the early sixties, regretting I never got to meet him in person, but realistically I doubt if I could have found him.'Hemingway taught Gellhorn to recognise sounds of gunfire and when it was imperative to take cover during battles. He said that Gellhorn was braver than most men. He constantly encouraged Gellhorn to write and write seriously - finally; she got down to writing a piece for 'Colliers' Magazine naming it "Only the Shells Whine".Hemingway wanted to make her a model of himself. He, in fact, helped Gellhorn to become a great war correspondent - which proved to be an achievement he would live to regret'. K S Lynn

Really, really good - one of the best films I've seen for a long time. I think the characterisation was probably very good.

Terrific movie.Hemingway was an idiot, to let go of GELLHORN.

War bacground well done

Having read the book Hotel Florida, I thought the film very good,