Am goldenen See (1981)

Am goldenen See: Directed by Mark Rydell. With Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda, Doug McKeon. Norman is a curmudgeon with an estranged relationship with his daughter Chelsea. At Golden Pond, he and his wife nevertheless agree to care for Billy, the son of Chelsea’s new boyfriend, and a most unexpected relationship blooms.

“This is an extremely well crafted film, although I believe a little overrated from a sense of nostalgia for its beloved talented and now aging stars, Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn. Of course the cinematography is magnificent, with lovely country scenery and beautiful lakeside vistas, all well incorporated into the emotional aspects of the picture.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie brings the viewer into what is probably the last of many summers spent at their Golden Pond cottage by retired professor, Norman Thayer, an ornery old codger, and his cheerful, loving wife, Ethel. Their semi estranged 40 something daughter, Chelsea (Jane Fonda), comes to visit, in honor of her fatheru0026#39;s 80th birthday, bringing her new fiancé, Bill. The younger couple leave Billu0026#39;s young teenage son, Billy, with Chelseau0026#39;s parents while they jaunt off to Europe for a couple of weeks on holiday.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s a film that is character driven, and all about relationships. For me, the most moving is that between husband and wife. Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn give brilliant Oscar winning performances as the aging Thayer couple, Norman and Ethel. Their relationship, the love, support, and comfortable banter, is so amazing on screen it is impossible to believe they arenu0026#39;t actually married in real life. Norman has become quite frail and has troubling health concerns, both physical (heart palpitations) and mental (some memory loss). Mind you, this film is all a bit depressing with Normanu0026#39;s anxieties about his mortality (no comforting faith mentioned here, unfortunately) and of course his aging. Ethel is jovially comforting, especially when he gets a little lost in the woods while they are out picking strawberries together. This scene is beautifully done by both spouses. Heu0026#39;s a sympathetic but crotchety character to say the least, yet she always manages to deal with him affectionately.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlso, the relationship between Norman and the fiancéu0026#39;s young son… Although Billy has earlier been rather miffed at being stuck with these old folks for the summer, Norman develops quite a touching grandfatherly relationship with him, as the two go fishing together and so forth. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe only relationship that doesnu0026#39;t come off well here is the strained father / daughter one between Norman and Chelsea that presumably is meant to reflect the real life tensions between Henry and Jane Fonda. Frankly, Chelsea seems more like a self absorbed teenager or 20 something, trying to find herself. By age 40, she should have done so and become a genuine support to these elderly parents of hers. I really like Jane Fonda in some of her roles, but this particular character hasnu0026#39;t much depth and is little asset to the movie. Hopefully, at least making On Golden Pond together helped to mend any real life fences between the two Fondas.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn any case, the film examines skillfully the aging process from the very personal perspective of a loving couple going through it, and as such is a movie not to be missed.”