Living With Lincoln

Living With Lincoln is an engaging and heartfelt documentary that aired on HBO in 2015. It offers a profoundly personal journey, told through the eyes of the filmmakers, reigning in the viewer through an exploration of history, family lineage, and the enduring legacy of one of America's most iconic figures.

Crafted beautifully by director Peter Kunhardt and his sons Teddy and George, Living with Lincoln is more than about the prevailing influence and legacy of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It’s about how this seminal figure's life and legacy have shaped the Kunhardt family, becoming a unique part of their lineage.

The film presents a richly detailed narrative, going back five generations to spotlight their ancestors and the family’s intimate relationship with the memory of Abraham Lincoln. This connection begins with William M. Kunhardt, the 19-year-old patriarch, who was a junior executive at Matthew Brady’s photography studio during the Civil War. It was here he developed a fascination with Lincoln which was passed down through generations of the Kunhardt family.

Living With Lincoln artfully combines elements of biography, personal narrative, and history into a single compelling narrative. It brings together hundreds of artifacts, photographs, and diary entries, dating back over a century, illuminating both the life of Lincoln and its nuanced impact on the lineage of the Kunhardt family. The intimate portrayal illustrates a deeply woven tapestry of family stories, archived memoirs, and sentiment linked to familial and national history.

The documentary delves into the motivations of why this family became the custodians of such a considerable collection of Lincoln memorabilia. It sheds light on their dedication to preserving the memory of Lincoln, out of both passion and a keen sense of responsibility to history. The behaviour patterns chronicle oscillations between fascination, burden, and obsession about their ancestor's collection. The candid narration demonstrates an intricate blend of pride and apprehension that comes with being the custodian of such significant national treasures.

The Lincoln artifacts held within the family fold include a lock of Abe's hair, the gloves he had with him the night he was assassinated, over 70,000 glass negatives of Mathew Brady Civil War photographs, and countless personal letters and diaries. Each of these items tells a part of Lincoln's, and in some ways, America's story. And, as each generation adds their interpretations and experiences of these relics into the mix of narrations, they create a constantly evolving biography of Lincoln.

The Kunhardts’ challenge is not only in managing the massive collection but in living up to the promise of what they have inherited. As the film progresses, we walk with the family as they grapple with the heavy legacy of custodianship and the immense pressure it applies amid their personal and professional lives. We understand the exhaustive struggle of meticulously maintaining hundreds of delicate and invaluable artifacts, along with the emotional weight of the task.

Apart from the physical archive, Living with Lincoln delivers a profound understanding of the complex emotional inheritance associated with the keeping of history. It chronicles the challenges and personal costs faced by the family while illustrating the integral role their personal stories play in the wider narrative of American history. The tensions this responsibility creates amidst the family is palped and deeply relatable, elevating the film from merely a historical chronicling to a deeply moving memoir of familial bonds, duty, and love.

What makes this documentary stand out is the unique first-hand perspective it offers, inviting viewers into the formative experiences of a family living under the long-shadow of an illustrious figure in American history. The raw portrayal of being "Living with Lincoln" is never glamorized or romanticized but is instead shown with grace, humility, and a sense of duty that is both daunting and awe-inspiring.

In all, Living With Lincoln offers an intriguing invitation into the heart of a family living with an extensive historical legacy. It isn’t just about their relationship with an influential figure; it is a testament to the power of collective memory, the passing down of traditions, and how the artifacts of our past can fundamentally shape the trajectory of our lives. Its portrayal of familial bonds, their struggles with their inherited responsibility, and their enduring attachment to the Lincoln legacy creates a compelling viewing experience.