Customer Reviews
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Sweet little film
Comment: I found the opening shot in this film chilling, and not because I found the bees disturbing. As the
camera moves in to Peter Fonda's face, for a moment, he looks exactly like his dad....
/>As other reviewers have pointed out, the film is slow moving. If you're not the type to use honey
because you're too impatient to wait for it to flow slowly from the jar, you probably won't
appreciate what takes place here. But a tension develops in the first moments of the film that is
nicely sustained until the very end. Further, there are some scenes in which the verisimiltude hits
so close to home I found myself getting anxious. Anyone with a dysfunctional family understands
that as each member makes poor choices, the entire family is affected in some way eventually.
Enough said there.
Peter Fonda has come into his own in this film. I'd love to see him
do more work like this.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: The movie that began Jessica Biel's illustrious film career.
Comment: Let's face it, there's nothing illustrious about Biel's film career, but she's still the hottest
face out there today, and honestly, is the only reason I initially watched Ulee's Gold (the TV
synopsis said she was in it, thus, the reason I watched it).
Sadly, this is Biel in
her first film, thus, before she became the beauty we all know her for today (I think she was an
awkward sixteen year old when she made this movie). But Ulee's Gold pulls a trick out of its hat by
actually having a solid plotline that supersedes any one actor's presence within the film.
/>
The plot deals with Ulee, who is a beekeeper and who's raising two granddaughters due to
their father spending time in jail and their mother who is on the run as a drug addict. The story
escalates when two thugs, who were formerly associated with Ulee's imprisoned son, come looking for
money they believe is hidden from a former heist, and seek Ulee as a source to where it might be.
This film was the centerpiece film at Sundance's 1997 Film Festival and still stands
as an excellent example of independent film making.
Customer Rating: Summary: VERY TOUCHING FILM
Comment: I loved the film and it is in my top recommendations to everybody. Its subject is simple: The life
of a beekeeper who was a war veteran in Vietnam, a beautiful view of bee culture, and a family
disrupted by death, prison, and drugs. This film is a must.
Customer Rating: Summary: Good as Gold
Comment: Fonda delivers here as an understated everyman hero.
Why is Ulee the way he is? This is a
believable story and not
stock at all. Fantastic supporting cast. Patricia Richardson from
"Home Improvement" shows she is not a 2nd bannana.
Besides, you will gain a ton of information
on the honeybee business.
Customer Rating: Summary: Peter Fonda is excellent
Comment: Peter Fonda is superb as the bitter, we-don't-need-anybody's-help family head who raises bees in
Florida for a living, and must suddenly deal with a daughter-in-law (played by Christine Dunford)
strung out on drugs and a son (Tom Wood) who's in prison on robbery charges. A couple of ex-con
buddies of Wood learn that he hid away a lot of the money from the robbery they committed, and they
make it plain to Fonda that they want it. Fonda's got to figure out how to deal with these two
ex-cons while trying to detox Dunford at home - and still get the honey collected from his
beekeeping operation.
Fonda plays Ulee Jackson like a man with the DNA of a turtle:
all his on-screen actions are slow and deliberate - even his incessant handling of his glasses seems
to eat up much screen time. His character is supposed to be the ultimate stoic, and he plays it to
the hilt. But the story is an interesting one, and the climax in the swamp is pretty exciting. The
director (Victor Nunez) also insists on showing as much of the beekeeping tasks as he can get away
with (some of it is so detailed it could be used in a beekeepers documentary); you will either not
mind this very much or be driven crazy by it. I didn't mind it very much. Fonda is actually pretty
fascinating to watch; his performance is right out of the old method school of acting (he IS Ulee
and not just playing a role). The movie works and is satisfying to watch.
