L'or de la vie

A pretty good little movie. The pace is a little slow, and often not much seems to be happening. This is not a bad thing here. Hollywood is usually so formulaic that they must not be discouraged when they try something a little different. Everything worked well here, the acting, the photography, the direction. Yes, Peter Fonda turned in a fine performance. I wonder if as much would have been made of this if Fonda hadn't spent most of his career playing in total stinkers, though. The small-time crooks, Fonda must deal with (including his son) are such losers they seem directly imported from an Elmore Leonard novel. Special mention for the child actress Vanessa Zima (Penny Jackson). She performed wonderfully in her role, full of soulful and meaningful looks. Either she is a very good child actress, or the casting director did a great job finding a girl who looks the part.

Excellent tale about a man who gets involved with 2 men intent on getting their hands on a stash of stolen loot from an armored car robbery. Unique story with an actor I haven't seen since he hit middle age. Peter Fonda still has the same soulful eyes he had when I first saw him in "Wild Angels" back in the mid-60's. His acting has improved considerably over the years; I thought his old underground films were somewhat amateurish back then. This was a fine movie which reminded me a little of his western "The Hired Hand" from some 20 years ago. Well worth watching.

"Ulee's Gold" is a simple little film that is reminiscent of Old Hollywood. Peter Fonda (Oscar-nominated) stars as a bee-keeper in Florida who has lived a somewhat uneventful life. He's raising his two young grand-daughters because their father is in prison and their mother is nowhere to be found. When Fonda learns from his imprisoned son that his daughter-in-law needs his help, he rescues her from a life which has nearly been ruined by drug-use. Fonda brings her back to live with him, but also learns from his son that two thugs may create trouble because of a score they (the son and thugs) pulled off years earlier. Now the thugs want the money and Fonda must show emotional strength at his family's darkest hour. The film is above-average in every aspect, but it is Fonda that makes the film as good as it is. Everyone else is adequate, but this is his show. The screenplay and direction are just good enough to keep the film above water. Overall a good film. 4 stars out of 5.

Surely one of the best human dramas of the last few years, Peter Fonda is great as Ulee Jackson, a deeply wounded but incredibly strong man who by sheer strength of will reaches out to drag back together a shattered family. His performance is a masterpiece of understatement; we can almost physically sense the roiling depths of anger and resentment that lie below his cold, almost imperturbable exterior. The crime subplot never takes precedence over the gripping family drama that is the movie's core. It is wonderful to see the various characters gradually becoming re-integrated into a functioning family; i.e. The daughter's appearing late at night in the work area to help Ulee, whose restrictions up to then she has mightily resented, with his backbreaking work.

Few have commented on the double entendre of the movie's title. Ulee's "Gold" is, on its surface, the honey he works to produce. At the film's conclusion we see that "Gold" might also refer to the long-lost money that is at the crime subplot's core. In actuality, we could have a TRIPLE entendre in that we can see that the real "Gold" might actually refer to the family he has brought together again.

For me, 90 % of the american movies of the 1990's stinks. Ulee's gold is a part of the 10 % left of very good and intelligent movie. The photography is wonderful and the members of Peter Fonda's family are all great (the two bad boys are weak). For me, this is the cultural United States portrayed in a movie. Not all that Titanic or Star Wars stuff, but this kind of movie where people and realistic characters are important. And it's a great come back for mister Fonda.