The Real Dirt on Farmer John
An outcast in his community, Farmer John bravely stands amidst a failing economy, vicious rumors, and violence. By melding the traditions of family farming with the power of art and free expression, this powerful story of transformation and renewal heralds a resurrection of farming in America. Through highly personal interviews and 50 years of beautifully textured footage, filmmaker Taggart Siegel shares Farmer John’s haunting and humorous odyssey, capturing what it means to be wildly different in a rural community.
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Reviews
The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.
The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
Both sides of my family were midwest farmers, and watching this movie was like reliving my life, and reliving the lives of every ancestor I ever met. I feel like I knew the people in the movie all my life. I lived the period in which John grew up. I understand the good ole boys that lived around John and tried to make him conform to their standards. I moved away from the midwest before I was 30 because I was stifled by their repetitive boring unforgiving culture. I had an aunt that took movies of our family that looked just like those in this movie. Fortunately John had access to all this old footage to use in telling his story. I guess getting my hands in the dirt is in my blood, because I've always wanted to be a farmer like John, but not like the commercial farmers that own all the land now. I feel like I've known John in another life. Makes me want to move back to Illinois and work for John for FREE. This movie was incredible !!! WOW
I saw this film at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and was blown away. The Real Dirt on Farmer John excels on both a technical and an emotional level. So many films, particularly documentaries, struggle to achieve three clearly defined acts that maintain a narrative arch, but this film succeeds... and then some. While 'Real Dirt' was one of the highlights at Hot Springs, what really provoked me into writing this brief review was an idiotic post at this same site that claimed the 'Real Dirt' was fake and manufactured by the director and his subject. Yes, they've had a long standing relationship, but I think the film makes that clear. And the many articles I've since read about Farmer John and the film backs up the documentaries validity. This same review claims Farmer John is 'acting'. Well, anyone who sees the film will instantly realize that John is at the very least a theatrical person in his everyday life - but I'd hardly call what he does at any point in the film acting (except for the segments that depict him acting in his own play as captured in a CNN clip from the 80's). The events of Farmer John's life are laid bare on the screen for all to see. That he wrote and reads the films narration is a bit unconventional, but in the end only adds to the unique experience of the exceptional film.
I didn't see it as a literal documentary, obviously certain liberties were taken to tell the story on a limited budget. It was both touching and true to its time. I'm hoping that it will get into distribution and certain that it will create a buzz. The story of the family farm still needs recounting even though it was a media darling twenty years ago. His struggle to succeed and to keep the family business going is universal...The underlying "hippie" mentality was also keeping with the times, having been a student in Wisconsin in the early 70's. When you laugh and cry and root for the underdog, it becomes personal. What else can you ask for from a movie?
A strange story for sure, but one that made me cry in public, which doesn't happen. Farmer John is a very unique soul, but a good one. Even if you don't dig the cross-dressing or the purity of his vegetables, the tales of farmers, the land, and the love of the good earth is incredible and one we should not forget. When the old farmer explains how once good farmland has been covered up by asphalt and subdivisions, if your eyes don't at least water then there's something wrong with you. I am a computer science professor who can't go without email for more than eight hours, but this film reminded me that my father was a farmer in the 1930's and made me remember how much I loved having a little garden on my parents' 5 acre garden when I was a little kid.This is a work of a man's lifetime, and the lifetime of a man who has done good work all his life. I'm a bit biased because I'm fortunate enough to know Farmer John a little, but I only came to know him after I saw this film and realized what a good guy he is. If it helps just one person or (more importantly) one farm, I'm sure he'll be happy.This film made me want to be a good guy again. I highly recommend it to anyone who eats food or longs for a reason to continue doing so.