Absolutely Fantastic

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The first must-see film of the year.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

There are many things I did not know in this movie. I learned "Old man and sea" in my high school and I barely knew Hemingway spent his life in Cuba for a while. However, I did not know Hemingway was involved in the civil war in Cuba and he committed suicide. It may be common sense to some people, but people who did not grew up in the U.S. do not know about it. I did not know Ed Myer either. The relationship Ed Myer and Hemingway was complicated. Ed Myer looked for his father figure in Hemingway, but I did not think they bulit that kind of relationship because Hemingway misunderstood Ed and punched his face. Their acting does not show what kind of relationship Ed and Hemingway really had. Hemingway also had a difficult relationship with his wife. Whenever Mary talked about her successful career in the past, Hemingway looked offended. Mary said " I love you"to him and papa looked pleased, but it did not fit the story. In reality, Hemingway committed suicide anyway. Around the complicated emotion and Hemingway's depression were not acted well. Ed myer and his girlfriend were having difficult time and Ed Myer had doubts about a relationship or a woman. Then suddenly, he decided to marry her. The girlfriend was angry, but she was kissing him. That part was happening too sudden. So I gave the movie 6 not 7.

I'm baffled by the hostility of many professional critics to this film. (The user, or amateur, reviewers are much more accurate, fair, knowledgeable and balanced. I'm finding this is true with user book reviews also. The amateur reviewers often know much more, care more, and are less biased about the subject than the professional reviewers.) I think the reason that so many professional critics did not like this film is because in liberal circles today Hemingway is very much out of fashion, and looked down upon. He is 'politically incorrect' now. Also Hemingway is not nearly as popular and well known today as was the case from 1930 to 1965.If you know about and like this famous author, as I do, this is the film for you. The stage actor, Adrian Sparks, who plays Hemingway nails the author's look, mannerisms, ideas, and even the sound of his voice. The film captures perfectly Hemingway's relationship with his prickly last wife, Mary, his mental state and concerns, and his relationship with friends, in the late 1950s period in Cuba, all per the historical record. And an added treat is that the film was made in Cuba at Hemingway's actual home, and favorite bar, the Floridita. The director may have even used the author's actual fishing boat the 'Pilar', which used to be kept at the Finca Vigia Estate after the author's death. If not it was a very close replica right down to the black hull. Also I thought screenwriter Denne Petitclerc's, a friend of the Hemingways, script was accurate, honest, inclusive, intelligent, well done, and thoughtful.

Went into this anticipating intriguing true story providing some insights into the revered author. Was initially put off by the embarrassing performances of Papa and especially Mary Hemingway characters, but eventually realized they were provided with a dreadful trite script and were just battling their way through it under vacuous direction. Not being drawn into the story, I had plenty of time to notice the comically inept directing and editing. Amateurish disconnects, visual glitches, motivational and logical inconsistencies, silly scoring, etc. etc. My companion said it had the feel of a Lifetime movie, but I think that is generous because this was a greater waste of talent and potentially interesting material.

Sometimes the importance of a film transcends its subject matter. "Papa: Hemingway in Cuba" (R, 1:49) is one such film. It was the first Hollywood production shot on the island nation of Cuba since that country's communist revolution brought Fidel Castro to power in 1959. The gradual opening of Cuban society and subsequent easing of tensions between Cuba and the U.S. created the possibility of such a production, while depicting the twilight years of writer Ernest Hemingway served as the perfect project.The time of his residence in Cuba was the last happy period in the amazing and enigmatic life of one of America's greatest writers. Hemingway wrote as a newspaper journalist, war correspondent, short story writer, poet, playwright and novelist. He wrote in a deceptively simple style which won him the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize and influenced countless other writers. He gathered ideas and inspiration from his experiences in three different wars (both World Wars and the Spanish Civil War), living and working in several different countries in North America and Europe (including Canada, France and Austria), his passion for the outdoors (especially hunting and fishing) and his turbulent romantic life (typified in his four marriages). He was a man who survived one hospitalization for war wounds, two airplane crashes, three car accidents and several different illnesses, yet worsened his health further through a lifetime of heavy drinking. Hemingway's was a life of drama and this film excellently portrays a portion of that life."Papa: Hemingway in Cuba" tells the true story of the writer's latter years in Cuba (mostly 1957) as he befriends and mentors a rising writer named Denne Bart Petitclerc – renamed Ed Myers in this script. Ed (Giovanni Ribisi) was abandoned as a child and found inspiration in Hemingway's writing. As a young newspaper reporter, he writes, revises and then hesitates to send a fan letter to his idol. Ed's co-worker and girlfriend, Debbie Hunt (Minka Kelly), mails the letter without Ed's knowledge and Ed gets a surprise telephone call at work from Hemingway (Adrian Sparks) who invites Ed to go fishing with him in Cuba.Ed makes a number of visits to Cuba during which his friendship with Hemingway and his wife, Mary (Joely Richardson), grows, just as Hemingway's own physical and mental state deteriorates. Also going downhill is his relationship with Debbie (strained by the frequency of those trips) and the political and security situation in Cuba, which is drifting toward revolution. Ed fishes, swims, talks and socializes with the Hemingways and their diverse group of friends as he witnesses his idol's behavior become more erratic and observes incidents that demonstrate increasing danger for the government and the residents of Cuba. Through all this, Ed struggles to find his voice as a writer, to reconcile the Hemingway he got to know with his image of his literary hero and his reluctance to commit to a woman who clearly loves him."Papa: Hemingway in Cuba" is engaging, enlightening and entrancing. Actually seeing the country of Cuba (including the actual house Hemingway occupied) through the confident lens of cinematographer Ernesto Melara is both beautiful and interesting. The audience also gains a lot of insight into who this famous man was a person, much the same way as Movie Fans who saw 2011's "My Week with Marilyn", which is another true story told through the eyes of an ordinary young man who gets to spend time with his world-famous idol (although Michelle Williams' legs are much more attractive than Adrian Sparks').The story is economically told by a script from Denne Bart Petitclerc himself, who sadly died early in the production of this film, and the direction of Bob Yari, who, interestingly, has been a successful feature film producer for over 15 years (including 2004's Best Picture Oscar winner "Crash"). Bringing the film's well-conceived drama and well-written dialog to life is a stellar multi-national cast featuring award-worthy performances from Ribisi, Kelly and especially Richardson and Sparks who also happen to look a lot like the real people they are playing. All this combines to create a film which is pleasing to the eye, the ear, the intellect and the discerning moviegoer's sense of enjoyment. "A-"