Barbara Turner

Hemingway & Gellhorn debuts tonight on HBO at 9 p.m. Eastern Some stories may be too irresistible to the artists who seize upon the idea of telling them. Any handful of the following elements could make a memorable movie: larger-than-life historical protagonists, forbidden love, a war-torn setting, copious alcohol, idealism, cynicism, courage, cowardice, loyalty, betrayal, creative genius, creative blockage, international intrigue, an endless parade of famous people.  But perhaps ...

It's no surprise that Philip Kaufman -- perhaps the most European of American filmmakers -- was drawn to the passionate story of Ernest Hemingway and war correspondent Martha Gellhorn. Kaufman is a consummate adapter of complex novels including The Unbearable Lightness of Being and The Right Stuff, as well as a portraitist of literary powerhouses like Henry Miller (Henry and June) and the Marquis de Sade (Quills). Karen Ballard/HBO Hemingway & Gellhorn is having a world p...