Henry Fonda for President

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Henry Fonda for President

Apr 2025

3h 4m

Drama

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

91%

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11 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

A personal essay about the United States, viewed through the life and work of a movie actor. Henry Fonda and the roles he played merge into a dazzling and conflicted figure. A very private man who thought he had "no good answers to anything" becomes the unlikely motor of a parallel history. His voice, recorded during his last interview in 1981, and his onscreen avatars guide us through America's past and present -- on a road trip from the village of Fonda, NY, across the Midwest to the Pacific; from 1651 to the 1980s and the presidency of another movie actor. It takes many places and times and characters to imagine an invisible republic -- the United States of Fonda.

Kat Sachs

Chicago Reader

Formidable.

Sep 23, 2025

Full Review

Glenn Kenny

New York Times

The movie convincingly posits that Fonda was, cinematically, the embodiment of America itself.

Apr 3, 2025

Full Review

Brad Hanford

Slant Magazine

If Fonda was an avatar of American liberalism’s tolerance and self-scrutiny, the film suggests, so, too, does he represent its complicity in the nation’s sins and its failure to change its course in the direction of justice.

Rated: 3.5/4

Mar 30, 2025

Full Review

Clotilde Chinnici

Loud and Clear Reviews

Overall, Henry Fonda for President adds very little to whatever niche of documentary filmmaking it wants to contribute to. It also quickly becomes too repetitive and predictable to actually justify 3 hours of runtime.

Rated: 2/5

May 18, 2025

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A fantastic unconventional documentary on the iconic movie actor Henry Fonda.

Rated: A-

May 5, 2025

Full Review

Armond White

National Review

Horwath’s ideological biases notwithstanding, Henry Fonda for President makes a monumental plea for those films and filmmakers that reflect a nation’s essence.

Apr 9, 2025

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Alexander Horwath

Director

Robert De Niro

Actor

Henry Fonda

Actor

Jane Fonda

Actor

Alexander Horwath

Screenwriter

Ralph Wieser

Producer

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Synopsis

A personal essay about the United States, viewed through the life and work of a movie actor. Henry Fonda and the roles he played merge into a dazzling and conflicted figure. A very private man who thought he had "no good answers to anything" becomes the unlikely motor of a parallel history. His voice, recorded during his last interview in 1981, and his onscreen avatars guide us through America's past and present -- on a road trip from the village of Fonda, NY, across the Midwest to the Pacific; from 1651 to the 1980s and the presidency of another movie actor. It takes many places and times and characters to imagine an invisible republic -- the United States of Fonda.

Director: Alexander Horwath
Producer: Ralph Wieser, Irene Höfer, Andreas Schroth
Screenwriter: Alexander Horwath
Distributor: The Film Desk
Production Co: Medea Film Factory
Genre: Drama, Documentary
Original Language: German
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 3, 2025, Limited
Runtime: 3h 4m