Ulee's Gold

So where the hell has Peter Fonda been all these years? Famous for the last few decades only as the protagonist in "Easy Rider" and perhaps because of his famous family, Fonda has languished on the sidelines, maybe only until the right project came along.

Well, he found it. His beekeeping Ulee is a study in masterful silence, a character full of unspoken rage and poker-faced emotion. Forced to take care of his grandchildren after they were abandoned by their parents, he must decide whether or not to rescue their strung-out mother when some evil influences come to town. Ulee has many battles within himself—whether or not to rely on the help of others, the bonds of family vs. the ethos of right and wrong, his acceptance of another's love after the horror of his wife's loss—all orchestrated with remarkable realism by Fonda. And the ending, which is decidedly pat, yet loses none of its emotional impact, is testament to a movie's ability to evoke tears even in the summertime. Fonda walks delicately around the bee hives in this one, and it's a stinger-free pleasure.

—Ian Williams

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