Wolff rating: GOOD
Plot summary: Grandather who runs a beekeeping business is thrust into dealing with the problems caused by his son's crimes, including taking care of his son's family while the son is in prison.
Biased, pithy comments: This is an elegant movie that follows Peter Fonda as he moves bees around, takes care of his granddaughter, deals with his daughter-in-law who is coming down off of some serious drugs, and even deals a bit with criminals. Soft-spoken Ulysses will never ask for help from ``outsiders,'' which seems to mean everyone but himself. As such, this is a slow, quiet movie filled with interesting characters in awkward situations---one feels that this is real life for this reticient beekeeper. But, there's the briefcase-full-of-money aspect to this film that pops up in an uncomfortable cliche, and even as we're examining the inner workings of a man more comfortable with bees than people, we need to deal with low-life punks with guns and drugs. I wished I could have seen more of the characters and less of the crime, but one can't expect everything from an independent film. So, slow, interesting, not always subtle with its metaphors (actually, fairly overt, sometimes painfully so), but Fonda's acting is impeccable and Richardson's character lets on that she knows more than she's telling us.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Peter Fonda, Patrician Richardson, Christine Dunford, Tom Wood, Jessica Biel, Steven Flynn, Dewey Weber.
Directed by: Victor Nunez