Name: Ethel
Director: Rory Kennedy
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2012-01-20
Duration: 97 min
Rating: 6.9
Cast: Ethel Kennedy, Rory Kennedy, Ralph Bunche, Fidel Castro, Cesar Chavez

The Kennedys' matriarch finally speaks — and her daughter's holding the camera.

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intimatepolitical dynasty realnesssurvivor's story

Overview

Documentary

Filmmaker Rory Kennedy interviews her mother, Ethel Kennedy, who discusses family, marriage and politics.

Content warning

woman director

grief and resiliencepolitical sacrificemotherhood under scrutinylegacy vs. truth

Standout Aspects

Direction

Daughter interrogating mother — tension you can't script.

Editing

Archival footage woven like a family scrapbook on fire.

Best for:Solo·Date Night

Heads up:Emotional

Director

Rory Kennedy

ReleasedJan 20, 2012

Runtime1h 37m

StatusReleased

Vibe

Pacesteady

Intensitymedium

Tonemixed

Feelheavy

Moxie Firecracker Films

Top Cast

Rory Kennedy

Narrator (voice)

Fidel Castro

Self (archive footage)

Walter Cronkite

Self (archive footage)

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend

Self

Jacqueline Kennedy

Self (archive footage)

John F. Kennedy

Self (archive footage)

Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.

Self (archive footage)

Robert F. Kennedy

Self (archive footage)

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

Rory Kennedy was born six months after her father Robert was assassinated — she literally made a film about the mother she never saw whole.

Insight

Ethel's 11th-hour refusal to discuss JFK's death created the documentary's most haunting absence — Rory couldn't crack the family code even with a camera.