Katherine and I are watching the Academy Award-winning movies in chronological order, beginning with Midnight Cowboy in 1969. Yesterday, we watched Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), which I had never seen. All I knew (mainly from the title) is that it's about divorce. Dustin Hoffman, who won the Best Actor award for this film, is terrific. Meryl Streep won Best Supporting Actress, though I don't know why. About all she did is cry on cue. How hard is that?
To me, the movie is about the effect of divorce on all parties, including, most significantly, children. The boy thought he was responsible for the breakup of his parents. The parents are portrayed as growing as a result of the wrenching experience. Hoffman's character learned how to be a father, while Streep's character came to appreciate the special bond that had developed (during her absence) between her ex-husband and her son.
I also interpret the movie as a condemnation of feminism, which has lied to generations of women, to their great detriment. Streep's character attended Smith College, where, like so many other women of her time and since, she was indoctrinated into thinking that women can have it all. Nobody has it all. Men have never had it all and women can't have it all. If you think you can have it all, you are setting yourself up for frustration (or worse, devastation).
Addendum: Here is the trailer.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 