Ethel (2012)

Ethel - 2012

Our next installment is a documentary film entitled "Ethel".  Released in 2012, this film gets a mention on the blog because it did in fact make an appearance on the big screen.  It was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and it made appearances at other important film festivals across the United States.

This film tells the story of Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy.

We begin at a memorial service for her late husband at Arlington National Cemetery.  Bobby Kennedy's vision for the world has formed the crux of Ethel's mission to carry on his legacy.

The setting is Ethel's residence at the famed Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.

Ethel's youngest child, Rory, is the director of the film and the narrator for the video montages.  When she tells Ethel they're making a documentary about her life, Ethel chuckles and says, "This is such a terrible idea."

With the exception of one (Douglas), all of Ethel's surviving children (she had 11) participate in the documentary, telling of their memories growing up and how their mother has impacted their lives.

We learn about Ethel's growing up years in the rambunctious Skakel family, a family a bit similar to the Kennedys in size and growing up experiences.

Ethel became the best friend of Jean Kennedy and the two got into a bunch of trouble when they were at school.  Their list of demerits is exhaustive.  Ethel tells of how she wanted to go to an outing at the time.  If you had so many demerits, you couldn't go.  So, she and Jean took the demerit book and threw it in the incinerator.

Eventually, Ethel met and married Jean's older brother, Bobby.  Ethel happily talks of her memories of the wedding.

She soon settled in to raising a family and becoming a full-fledged member of the Kennedys.

That included working tirelessly on JFK's presidential election campaign.  Ethel beams with pride when she talks about the victory and how happy everybody was at the time.

With her husband working as the Attorney General, Ethel was home raising the family.  But that didn't stop her from getting into a bit of trouble of her own!

She speaks with sadness of JFK's assassination and how it was just "waves of grief" for months on end.

Bobby ran for Senator from New York and won.  He also went on to run for President of the USA.  Ethel was by his side every step of the way.

When Bobby himself was assassinated, Ethel's life came to a screeching halt.  "Let's talk about something else," she tells her daughter, anxious to change the subject.

Ethel picked up where Bobby left off.  She became a very active human rights activist.  She's traveled all over the world in aid of the causes that are important to her.

Bobby is never far from her thoughts, and he continues to be the driving force in the life of the Kennedy matriarch.

And that's it for Ethel.  Ethel and her family continue to captivate the public today.  Earlier this year, her granddaughter Maeve and her 10-year-old son went missing after canoeing.  Their bodies were found a few days later at the bottom of Chesapeake Bay.  The news made headlines all over the country.

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