Wordiezett So much average

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

the-evil-cult A few days after the New Year I caught this film on TV while I was lying on the couch lazily. What kept my attention was how Farmer John ate the soil at the beginning. This I thought was weird, and Farmer John is a very unconventional character. His story, which spans his whole life from childhood to today, is incredible. It was interesting to watch how paranoid some of John's neighbor and the community became because John is very unconventional. The disappointing behavior of these people contrasts to the CSA shareholders from Chicago who are willing to take time off from their presumably urban lives and get dirty in a farm. John believes there is a character or a soul to his farm, that it is more than just dirt, plants, and buildings. Although I don't find this idea particularly sensible, I appreciated his enthusiasm and optimism, and it's good to see the city folks giving him a hand.What I would like to know about this film is why many farms in America were closing. I'm guessing it was because of tariff reductions.

roland-104 Bittersweet documentary account of John Peterson's roller coaster ride of failures and successes in attempting to sustain a farm in northern Illinois that his grandfather had created and he subsequently inherited. By turns nostalgic in its backward gazes and cutting edge about the way forward, Peterson's story also is emblematic of such broadly important issues as our contemporary culture wars and the fate of small family farming in the United States.In school Peterson was a bit dreamy perhaps, but otherwise an ordinary farm kid. The full responsibility of running a 250 acre farm fell to him as a late teenager, when his father died prematurely of complications from diabetes. John chose a college closest to the farm, Beloit, where he found himself drawn toward a counterculture crowd.His friends soon began coming to the farm, some choosing to live there, creating the ambiance of a commune, and they dubbed the farm the "Midwest Coast." The surrounding conservative community was not happy with the hippie-style cavorting of John and his friends. This was the beginning of a protracted, painful period of alienation between John and his erstwhile friends, neighbors, and even some of his relatives.Folks in the vicinity, including people he had gone to school with, like the town Sheriff, whispered that drug sprees and possibly a Satanic cult were hosted on John's farm. Rumors of children's bodies buried on the farm were spread around. Harassment followed, later the burning of an outbuilding. Meanwhile, John was one of the first to confront the economic Catch-22 that has decimated most small family farms over the past 30 years or more.Debts mounted, and eventually John had to sell all but 22 acres of the place to satisfy his creditors. He was deeply depressed and left Wisconsin, living and writing stories in Mexico for a couple of years. But the call of the farm beckoned him to try again. Once more he failed financially despite putting in 90 hour weeks to try to keep the farm afloat. Once again he went into exile in Mexico, but not for long this time.After his second return, he was approached by a group of Chicago families who wanted to work with him to establish a CSA – a Community Supported Agricultural program: a coop to raise and guarantee sales of organic vegetables. The CSA caught on and grew. Young people (interns) came to help at little cost. For the first time John had the wherewithal - the money and crew - to sustain the smaller farm.In fact there wasn't enough land to rotate crop production, a crucial flexibility required when one no longer adds chemical soil enricheners. Most recently an expanding customer base (1,200 families now are served) took the next step and put up money to purchase an adjacent parcel of farmland to increase productivity and permit crop rotation. John actually tastes the soil to help him determine how good things are going.In terms of cinematic values, there is nothing special about this production. It blends old home movie footage with newly shot scenes and interviews in a conventional manner. Along with the farm story we also are privileged to observe the tender ties between John and his most ardent supporter, his mother; his series of romantic relationships; and, most recently, his efforts to repair his relations with his neighbors. John, after all, did do his bit to provoke suspicion and alienation over the years.How DO you expect old timey farmer types to react when you wear a feather boa while driving your tractor, or dress up with your girlfriend as bumblebees and dance down the cauliflower rows? John Peterson is a delightful if sometimes bewildering mix of straight arrow, plain talking Scandinavian farm boy and over-the-top zany eccentric. But he does seem to be gradually pulling his farm and his neighbors into the 21st century. He'd be the first to tell you that the job is mighty hard. My grade: B 6/10.

steve-2553 Some movies are so full of heart and soul, are so much a reflection of their times, they feel like they were, in some strange way, destined to be made, and to make a mark, not only in the world of cinema, but in the American social fabric, as well. The Real Dirt on Farmer John is such a movie. At this time, many of us are yearning for a more truly compassionate and caring nation, for a more inclusive and understanding society, for a return to deeper, more spiritual values, and a sense of personal (rather than corporate) empowerment. Now along comes the maverick, All-American, Farmer John Peterson, a real third-generation Illinois farmer, and his true story of soil-based soul, devastation during the farm debt crisis of the 1980s, and resurrection in the 90s as a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm now serving 1200 families in the Chicago area. Filmmaker Taggart Siegel has effectively woven together Peterson's home movies from the 1950s, with footage from the 70s (when the farm was a hippie art commune), the 80s (when Peterson lost almost everything), from Mexico (where he sought solace and healing from his failure), the 90s (when Peterson experienced his resurrection) and recent years, as the farm now brims with organic produce, student farmers, families and children. The film reflects the struggles of American family farmers over the last fifty years and, more importantly, the universal Hero's Journey through life, death and rebirth. The scenes of Peterson with his mother overflow with love. But love and deep caring are the essence of the film. And at a time when we are bombarded with darkly cynical fare, The Real Dirt on Farmer John is the deep, fresh, lively flavor that will most satisfy our hunger for goodness and meaning. To be savored, like a fine meal ….

syena-1 What I loved about The Real Dirt on Farmer John was that it is history, but is also a personal story that stirs the heart and soul. It is not just a movie of the small farmer in America, it is about someone's passions and the trials of one's life. This film will be a surprise for who ever watches it. It can be transformational. I watched it in a room with 200 other people and everyone was touched and moved by this documentary film. What a gift to all who view this one! I cried, I laughed, I applauded, I hooted! Not one moment of boredom or drag... awesome! I know everyone felt the same way because there was a standing ovation at the end too! Wow!