‘Hesburgh’: A he-said, she said film review
Rev. Theodore Hesburgh shows solidarity with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders in the film “Hesburgh” shown during the Milwaukee Film Festival.
By Tom and Marilyn Jozwik
Published Oct. 28, 2019
HE: “Hesburgh,” a 2018 biopic currently screening at the 11th Milwaukee Film Festival, has as its subject the late Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, long-time president of the University of Notre Dame. The documentary, with an almost adulatory take on its namesake, is for the most part riveting, although its 1:46 running time could easily have been trimmed by 10-15 minutes (which is the approximate amount of time devoted to Hesburgh’s friendship with advice columnist Ann Landers).
“Hesburgh” deftly outlines and highlights “Father Ted’s” remarkable life, a nearly 100-year period during which—among other sizable accomplishments—he oversaw Notre Dame’s transformation from small-time-university-with-big-time-football-program to world class Catholic institution (with even-bigger-time-football-program).
SHE: In an age of such extreme partisanship, it was so refreshing to see someone like Fr. Hesburgh, whose advice was sought by a diverse range of influential people—from Ann Landers to President Eisenhower. His most important non-Notre Dame work was on the Civil Rights Commission, which under his guidance was the framework for civil rights legislation under President Johnson. Hesburgh’s story was cleverly told by Hesburgh (actor Maurice LaMarche did the voice-over, from Hesburgh’s words, in a voice similar to the subject’s), giving the film a good framework. Hesburgh was shown with Pope Paul VI, a good friend, as well as with presidents and other politicians, TV personalities and, of course, religious leaders. His sense of fairness, collegiality and justice were overriding themes of his long life.
HE: To reiterate, this doc is extremely positive; one wonders whether it heavily accented the positive at the expense of ignoring the negative (presuming you regard Hesburgh’s hardline approach to student protesters as a positive thing, as opposed to a negative). But then, the negative aspects are presumably few and far between when it comes to a man like Hesburgh.
Grade: A-