Henry Fonda for President (Alexander Horwath, 2024)In Henry Fonda for President, director Alexander Horwath charts the evolution of 20th-century American politics through the life and career of the iconic Hollywood actor. As with those books, the key to Henry Fonda for President is its outsider’s perspective. There was no purism involved in telling a chronological film history. It was clear that this film could only be a so-called “essay film.” I’m lucky because I know a lot of essayistic films. That’s why a film essay can be even richer, I believe, than a literary essay.