Mixed in with the delicate, naturalistic performances... is a sense of stylistic experimentation that also feels thoroughly new.

Fonda, touching as an actor, proves astonishing as a director, using a fluid, tactile style to conjure a life lived close to the elements and to sudden death.

In the hands of more thoughtful directors, everyday events have their own human meanings and don't need to be gussied up by Christ symbolism.

A film that unfolds patiently.