The figure of the Orihuela-born poet is a blend of the harshness of his existence and the excellence of his verse. The documentary Miguel Hernández covers three parallel stories: his life, his work and the historical context. The voices of relatives, friends, colleagues and rivals, and even of Miguel Hernández himself, speak of a sensitive and long-suffering individual who was subjected to a tortured existence in a series of Spanish jails up until his death, aged just 31.
The documentary juxtaposes voices on different levels leading the viewer from the various jails in which Miguel Hernández was imprisoned through his life, works and the historical context of which he was a victim, in the form of flashbacks. A range of voices also read accounts from his contemporaries. These take the form of the reflections of his wife, Josefina Manresa; his friend José Marín, to whom he dedicated the devastating Elegy to Ramón Sijé; Pablo Neruda and Vicente Aleixandre, his protectors; the masterful Juan Ramón Jiménez; his falling out with Federico García Lorca, who paradoxically suffered an identical fate; Manuel Altolaguirre and Concha Méndez, his editors; María Teresa León and Rafael Alberti, who prompted the poet to join the Communist Party and his fellow defendant in the briefest of summary trials, Eduardo de Guzmán, along with many others.
These accounts, told by other voices, are combined with interviews with historians, academics and those familiar with the work of Miguel Hernández. They include the lecturers José Luis Ferris, Agustín Sánchez Vidal, José Carlos Rovira, and Francisco Esteve, along with Alfonso Guerra and Lucía Izquierdo. Of particular significance are the interviews with poet Marcos Ana, who is still alive and was like Miguel Hernández imprisoned, and Melquisedec Rodríguez, his cellmate in Toreno jail.
The voices provide the central narrative thread of the documentary. Over them we hear the voice of Miguel Hernández, interpreted by actor José Luis Gómez, creating sonorous poetry through readings of his poems, texts and letters.
Screening
El documental, La 2 at 22:00