Ulee's Gold

Victor Nunez, 1997 (111 mins, Cert. 15)

An impeccable, mesmerising performance by Peter Fonda (for which he has been nominated for this year's Best Actor Oscar) crowns the moving story of Ulysses Jackson, a lonely Florida beekeeper raising his two grand daughters as best he can. With his son in prison for robbery, Ulee's quiet world erupts when two small-time gangsters try to uncover the stolen money from his son's crime. A film of quiet beauty, Ulee's Gold sees Peter Fonda thirty years on from Easy Rider in a perfectly structured, rewarding work. We also learn a lot about beekeeping!
(Barbican publicity)

Peter Fonda provides a powerful, sure centre as his dysfunctional family rages around him. Moving through life with a calm certainty, in spite of hinted internal discord, Ulee works alone to uphold traditional values in the face of great difficulties. The film is carefully paced, with a climax of no little suspense. Like the character of Ulee, this film has a quiet power to reassure us that the strengths of human nature can triumph over our weaknesses, that ultimately the good will prevail, and that there is value in staying in touch with our past.
(Steve Fagg)

Seen: Monday, 6th April, 1998 (Barbican 1)