Ulee's gold

This touching film presents a subtle study of the difficulties and complexities involved in the development and maintenance of lasting human relations. It reveals how abnormal events force one self-exiled loner to reassess his moral and emotional beliefs and to redeem his sense of personal and familial strength. Ulee, a Vietnam veteran turned beekeeper, in the tradition of generations before him, watches his family disintegrate when his son, Jimmy, lands in jail for robbery and his daughter-in-law disappears, leaving their two daughters in Ulee’s care. Ulee takes refuge from this state of affairs in the production of his high-grade honey with the unspoken assistance of his youngest granddaughter. However, when Jimmy’s partners begin threatening his family, thinking that Jimmy has hidden the proceeds of their robbery, Ulee’s stubbornly suppressed sense of the unconditional bond and care that links his family begins to surface and he becomes involved in the tenuous situation. Nunez handles this film with a simplicity and sensitivity that effectively evokes the personal journey of Ulee and the rest of his family in challenging circumstances.