Papa

"My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way." Ernest Hemingway

Apropos of Hemingway's minimalism, director Bob Yari's Papa Hemingway in Cuba features his life only at the beginning of the Cuban revolution in 1959 and the end of his powers as a writer and a lover. Although it is always difficult to imagine such a gifted man giving up on life, this film is explicit about his self perceptions and his delusions.

As played by look alike Adrian Sparks, Hemingway dismisses most other adults but is solicitous of a young writer/reporter, Ben Myers (Giovanni Ribisi), who has written to Hemingway and is subsequently invited to visit the manse in Cuba. Ben is really this screenwriter Denne Bart Peticlerc, who had the original experience with Hemingway.

While learning to fish from the master, Ben also learns of the trouble in paradise, beginning with family and moving from there to the feds. Although such discord often begets great writing, for neither writer does it provide much inspiration.

Not that Hemingway had it easy, for the FBI, the IRS, and seemingly the mob want a piece of the enormous celebrity known as Papa. Ben has his difficulties with his own absence from his love, Debbie (Minka Kelly), and inevitably incurs the wrath of the man himself for mistakenly thinking Ben is selling him out. By then, the genius was suspecting just about everyone.

As in recent bios of Chet Baker and Hank Williams, the abuses of these artists become clichéd, one for alcohol, another for drugs, another for womanizing, and the list goes on. Although Hemingway's story here walks the same path, few can match the splendor of his oeuvre.

I just enjoy being in his presence, and while no new territory, I am happy to be reminded that humans can achieve such a sublime state and yet be as flawed as I.

That's entertainment!

This true story about the relationship between journalist Denne Bart Petitclerc (Giovanni Ribisi) and legendary writer Ernest Hemingway (Adrian Sparks) takes place during the 1959 Cuban Revolution. While Hemingway's granddaughter, Mariel Hemingway gets a brief cameo, co-stars Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights), Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck) and Ribisi are left to fight to establish their place in the film. To blame here is Director Bob Yari ("Crash" 2004) and Editor Glen Scantlebury. With a beach scene between Hemingway, Mary and Denne incorrectly shot/edited (the beach shore can't be behind all of them) and scenes that stop and start, the already lackluster chemistry between the characters struggle. Even Writer Denne Bart Petitclerc's dialogue is choppy and weak, and this is his story. At least, Sparks does a nice job as Hemingway, providing something interesting to hang on to. I don't care if this is the first Hollywood film to be shot in Cuba since 1959, I need more here and didn't get it.

As with many who have written reviews, I am a Hemingway fan. This is a fabulous film in a tradition not seen often enough. Everyone else has said many good things about the film and they are true. What I would like to draw attention to is the story not told here. Denne's story.

There are hints dropped in the film and I am sure I didn't pick up on all of them. Why change his name? Not sure why "Ed", but Myers was his mother's maiden name. Ed is asked in the film, if he ever met found his parents. I believe (correct me if I am wrong) but he says his father died early of drink and he met his mother for about 10 minutes in Berkeley and indicates her reaction wasn't good. (She got a PhD, became a professor, and worked with handicapped children.) There is more there.

Denne goes on to be a quite successful screenwriter and was married to "Debbie" Elva for 21 years. (There is more than a little of Hemingway's leanness in screen writing.) When I saw the movie, I assumed it was made from a book and there would be more there. It wasn't. Denne did the screenplay. Denne did move to Ketchum and stayed close to Mary until her death. There is another story there.

I can't say this is a great movie, but I don't know why the critics were so hard on it - currently 8% on by Metacritic professional critics. Hemingway had a long and adventuresome life, and this movie captures the last year he spent at his Cuban estate, Finca Vigia. The beautiful, sprawling, gated estate had been a source of comfort for Hem through two divorces, multiple wars, and the withering of his talent. By 1959, Hem's cumulative emotional distress is mirrored in Cuba's political unrest, and the film captures that quite perfectly.

Giovanni Ribisi as Hemingway's new, young writer friend is more toned down that he is in other amped-up roles, and Adrian Sparks effectively becomes Hemingway; it's hard to believe it isn't him in many scenes. Joely Richardson was a terrific foil, moving through the turbulence of their marriage minute by minute, showing the deep love she had for him but also the anger she had at his drunken antics.

The film had some very nice touches, like the poly-dactyl cat in a very brief scene; Hemingway loved poly-dactyls in his later years.

I felt the movie was fairly well-paced and beautifully filmed. The drama around -- no spoilers -- some government issues was a little out of left field tone-wise, but otherwise I found it a rather lovely little picture, an admirable tribute to a great writer and a flawed man with a lasting legacy.

Papa is lovingly photographed in Cuba where the story takes place in 1959, with an aging and depressed Ernest Hemingway, a Cuban revolution, and a young reporter who develops a relationship with Hemingway. Adrian Sparks captures Ernest Hemingway to such an extent that we believe we are watching home movies of the real Hemingway. It's helped by being filmed in Hemingway's Cuban home, which is now a national museum. Joely Richardson is similarly marvelous in the role of Hemingway's wife.

The film has a quiet lyrical tone even while there are turbulent under currents involving Batista, J. Edgar Hoover, the Mafia, and Fidel Castro's rebels. But the heart of the story is the relationship between the reporter (Giovanni Ribisi) and the Hemingways, as the orphaned reporter becomes part of their "family" and learns for himself what being part of a family truly means.

The film will have limited appeal and is best viewed by people interested in Hemingway, or the Cuban revolution, or intense family dramas. AS an added bonus, there are lots of 1950s cars on display, which is a real treat for the eyes.