“The Biggest Little Farm” – Movie Review

This weekend at Film at Lincoln Center, I attended an advance screening of the new documentary The Biggest Little Farm. 

Synopsis

When a couple decides to run a farm, can they make it work despite all of the unforeseen obstacles they encounter?

Story

In 2010, John and Molly Chester lived in a small apartment in Santa Monica, California.  She was a chef and he was a videographer who specialized in wildlife documentaries.  One day, he covered a story about a woman who was keeping a ridiculous number of dogs in her house, which the authorities confiscated because they were not being well cared for.  Todd was one of those dogs.  Instead of winding up in a pound, John and Molly adopted him.  But that was only the beginning of their problems.  When they were both out of their apartment, Todd would bark incessantly, causing the neighbors to complain.  Eventually, their landlord threatened them with eviction.  Would they give up their apartment or their dog?

They decided that Todd was more important to them than their apartment.  In fact, they took this as an opportunity to pursue a dream of theirs and run a farm.  The only problem was that they didn’t have the money to purchase one.  Through friends and family, the word got out and when people heard about how the couple wanted to start a farm that would put the ecological system in balance with animals, investors contributed enough seed money for them to purchase land about an hour’s drive north of Los Angeles.  The land was arid and not conducive to supporting plant or animal life, so they had a great deal of construction work ahead of them. 

Fortunately, they had help in this area.  Since neither of them had run a farm before, they hired a world-famous agricultural expert to act as their consultant and advise them about what to do and how it should be done.  Despite facing various challenges like insects, coyotes and weather, they were able to figure out how to deal with each problem successfully.  But when their consultant passed away, they suddenly found themselves on their own.  By this time, however, they had been operating the farm for a few years and felt that they could pretty much manage anything that came their way.  Just when they thought they had a handle on things, they soon found that wildfires were surrounding the area and destroying nearby farms.  Would the couple be able to find a way to save their farm or would it be lost to the fires?

Review

At the risk of sounding dated, “The Biggest Little Farm” is a bit reminiscent of the old television situation comedy, “Green Acres”; for those of you unfamiliar with it, “Green Acres” was a series about a couple from New York City who purchased a run-down farm in the country and tried to operate it, despite the fact that neither one of them knew the first thing about how to do so.  While the two are thematically similar, “The Biggest Little Farm” is by no means a comedy – in fact, at some times, it seems to be bordering on a tragedy.  Either way, it’s a really amazing story. 

“The Biggest Little Farm” is perfect for people who are interested in either the ecology, wildlife or agriculture or some combination of those.  Most of all, it is about human resiliency, determination and dedication.  At its essence, the movie tells a story about how humans are able to stare down any challenge mother nature chooses to throw their way.  These protagonists are admirable because they have the philosophy of “failure is not an option” and because the adversities they face, they face together; instead of tearing them apart, the experiences serve to bond them even closer. 

Criticisms of “The Biggest Little Farm” are minor.  Perhaps the most notable aspect is their occasional dependence on cutesy animation intended to inform and entertain in order to fill in details that could not be put on film.  It was done in such a way that winds up ultimately distracting from the main story; animation could have been implemented in a better way.  The manner in which it was done here makes it feel as though you’re suddenly watching a cartoon and makes you question whether or not the film should be taken seriously.