Wednesday, June 26, 2019

The doc. Film "The Biggest Little Farm" is Big on Charm, Wisdom and Nature's Beauty

John and Molly Chester have worked out the recipe for marriage mixed with manure for good measure that's matured into a phenomenal organic farm in CA.  This didn't happen without them getting their hands dirty or spirits dampened.  John is an award winning film and TV writer/director.  His wife Molly, a farm to table organic chef.  They're happily married & living in Santa Monica when they became dog driven to revitalize hundreds of acres of barren farm land into a utopian, self-sustaining organic farm.  This was achieved through "a delicate dance of co-existence" amongst nature, nurture, organisms, animals & people.  Dog driven because after being drawn to rescue dog named Todd.  Their vows now included a permanent home for Todd. Todd was beloved by John & Molly but not their neighbors.  Todd's non-stop howling whenever they were away and got them evicted.  Naturally, John's talent as a filmmaker & Molly's love for cooking organically with added ingredient of needing to relocate landed them in Moorpark, CA; just over an hour N of LA.  With financial backing, inexplicable soil hacking, fundamental understanding of farming lacking (and cameras packing) John & Molly sought mentors, help and 8 unforgettable years later, their dreams  of a productive "traditional" farm using diversity, ingenuity, grit grew into a miraculous reality.  Getting there was a slow journey of disillusionment,  debacles, devastation & determination.  This indefatigable twosome created something profound.  This wondrous cinematographic doc. captures  nature's beauty & brutality. The viewer will discover fragile harmony in our eco-system energized by the impermanence of life.   John is not only the hero of his domain.  He's totally hands on, heart fully committed and discretely behind the camera.  John is the writer, dir. producer and cinematographer of this phenomenal film that gives you an inside look at the complex inter-workings of nature's inherent sustainability and human ingenuity.  "There's more to see than can ever be seen.  More to do than can ever be done."*   John narrates with poetry and sage.  Amy Overbeck's editing is brilliantly dissected & 'thymed' spanning nearly a decade.  "The Biggest Little Farm" is magically unpredictable.  It's a paradox of co-existence and a creative observation on the delicate equilibrium balance; pest or salvation, problem or resolution.   John and Molly unearthed an interconnected beauty of land and nature and discovered a comfortable level of disharmony essential to thrive.  Parents, you may want to take your children to see the "Lion King" but you MUST take them with you to see "The Biggest Little Farm."  "It's the circle of life and it moves us all."*

* (E John)

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