Living With Lincoln (2015)

🎭 Story Kernel

At its core, 'Living With Lincoln' explores the weight of inheritance—not of wealth, but of memory and legacy. The film follows filmmaker Peter Kunhardt and his family as they confront their extraordinary collection of Abraham Lincoln photographs and artifacts. This isn't merely a historical documentary; it's an intimate family portrait about what happens when your ancestor's legacy becomes your daily reality. The characters are driven by a dual need: to preserve this unique historical treasure while simultaneously freeing themselves from its overwhelming presence. The film asks whether we own our family histories or whether they own us, as the Kunhardts navigate their unusual relationship with America's most iconic president.

🎬 Visual Aesthetics

The film employs a deliberate visual dichotomy between the pristine, museum-quality Lincoln artifacts and the lived-in, sometimes cluttered family spaces where they're stored. Cinematography alternates between crisp, well-lit shots of historical photographs and more intimate, handheld moments capturing family interactions. The color palette subtly shifts—warmer tones during personal family moments, cooler, more formal lighting when examining artifacts. This visual language reinforces the central tension: the public, monumental Lincoln versus the private, human experience of living with his legacy. The camera often lingers on hands—touching photographs, sorting documents—emphasizing the physical, tactile relationship with history.

🔍 Details & Easter Eggs

💡 Behind the Scenes

The Kunhardt family's Lincoln collection is genuinely extraordinary—they possess some of the most important Lincoln photographs in existence, including Alexander Gardner's famous 'cracked plate' portrait. Director Peter Kunhardt comes from a multi-generational family of historians and filmmakers; his grandfather began the Lincoln collection. The documentary was shot primarily in the family's actual homes and storage spaces, adding to its authentic, unvarnished feel. Interestingly, the family had previously produced award-winning Lincoln documentaries, making this film a meta-exploration of their own professional and personal entanglement with the subject.