The well-made HBO documentary reveals essential truths about Lincoln and the family who protected his legacy.
Review by Matt Cummings
Our nation's cherished history is often expressed in terms of events: the American Revolution, The Civil War, 9/11. But at its heart, our history is a story of people. Figures like Abraham Lincoln have been celebrated in over 15,000 books, each trying to tell another aspect of his life. In the HBO documentary Living with Lincoln, one more story is told that's never been attempted: the effort made by one family to preserve its overwhelming collection of related photographs and documents. The result is far more about the their extraordinary burden of maintaining it rather than shedding any new light on the 16 president, and that's ok.
Narrated by Documentary filmmaker Peter Kunhardt, the grandson of famous historian/child author Dorothy Kundhardt, the documentary traces the history of the family's four generations to protect and later tell an important aspect of the Lincoln assassination: the 20-day train trip back to Springfield, Missouri to bury the president. Dorothy's father had advised on the creation of Lincoln's statue at the DC monument, the selection of his face for the penny and dollar bill, and the same for face at Mount Rushmore. Gifted with the same love of Lincoln that her father had, Dorothy's life soon became connected like a ribbon with Lincoln's as she struggled to raise a family while trying to write the book. Along the way, she would experience incredible success with her book Pat the Bunny and great difficulty in battling depression and drug/alcohol abuse. But as Peter packs away their collection for its final destination, we learn just how great that burden became, not only for Dorothy but for Peter and his father.
Lincoln isn't a tired breakdown of his life, but a stirring reminder of the weight some people bear to preserve a portion of our country's history. In this case, Peter was merely the next family member in line to take it on. No wonder he eventually released it to Yale University in 2014. As the film ends and the attic is slowly cleaned out, one can feel the release, knowing that it's forever in good hands. With it and Dorothy's childrens books now available for public appreciation, it's a fitting reminder that some responsibilities shouldn't always transfer to the next of kin.
HBO and Kunhardt do a fine job threading the needle between both histories, reminding us of the importance of preserving these memories for future generations. It comes recommended, and is now playing on HBOGo.
Living with Lincoln is unrated and has a runtime of 68 minutes.
Discuss this review with fellow SJF fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @SandwichJohnFilms, and follow author Matt Cummings at @mfc90125.
Comments