On Golden Pond

A man approaching eighty and his wife arrive once more at the lake house they have used every summer. Their daughter, whom they have barely spoken to for years, comes to visit with her fiance and his son. The film takes on ageing and the distance between a father and daughter at once; the narrative builds its conflict not in large scenes but in forgotten names and sentences left unsaid. The old man's relationship with the boy stands in for what he could not have with her. Mark Rydell directed. Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn won Academy Awards; Jane Fonda both acted and produced, and the part openly reflected her relationship with her father. It was Henry Fonda's last film. Who it's for: those who like calm, performance-led family drama. Who it's not for: viewers put off by sentiment; the film makes no secret of it.