Media Reviews

The Biggest Little Farm

Like many great adventures, John and Molly Chester’s starts with a seemingly simple problem to solve—in their case, a dog that won’t stop barking. Cramped in a one-bedroom Los Angeles apartment, the Chesters—albeit a bit restless and uncertain where their lives are headed—are happy to both be gainfully employed in a city with a high cost of living.

Enter Todd. No, he isn’t a rowdy roommate per se; he is their beloved dog. And though well-behaved when his owners are home, Todd is a nervous rescue who barks incessantly when they’re away, much to the chagrin of neighbors on the other side of the apartment’s thin walls. An unpleasant surprise in the form of an eviction notice sets the Chesters, with Todd in tow, on an unexpected journey.

John, a filmmaker, and Molly, a chef specializing in farm-to-table cuisine, take a leap of faith after receiving the eviction notice. They buy a rundown farm named Apricot Lane about 40 miles north of Los Angeles with the goal of turning it into a profitable, eco-friendly business. Not long after making the move, the Chesters realize they are in way over their heads, though Todd is happier than ever and no longer has a barking problem.

The couple seek the help of a specialist in what is called biodynamic agriculture. The idea is intrinsically Franciscan: All the diverse elements of a farm are interconnected, and the health of one facet of the farm affects and is affected by all the others. In many ways, this type of farming is a demonstrable example of the integrity of creation.

Even those not versed in agriculture know that healthy soil is crucial to a successful farm. But the way the Chesters go about achieving healthy soil is by fertilizing it with the manure of their sheep and goats. The sheep and goats eat the invasive grasses and shrubs in the fruit tree orchard, which has been pollinated by the many insects and native and migratory birds attracted to the fruit—and so on in an endless cycle of natural rejuvenation.

The Biggest Little Farm is beautifully shot, thanks in no small part to John’s career as a filmmaker with a background in nature documentaries. The quiet force of Molly and her dedication to making Apricot Lane a success help keep her husband going when unforeseen challenges come their way. The documentary is beyond a how-to on biodynamic farming: It’s a case study in resilience rooted in both care for creation and care for one’s spouse.

The story of this little farm is big in heart and hope.

“On a planet overwhelmed by habitat loss, the Chesters managed to build an ark.” —Associated Press

ICONS

Race in Reel Time

We are still reeling from the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor earlier this year. And while the 24-hour news cycle can keep us informed, context is often lost in the telling. Here are six streaming options, available on Netflix or Amazon Prime, that can deepen our understanding of race relations.

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man

IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967)

On the surface, it’s a mystery about a murdered industrialist in a sleepy Mississippi town. But peel a layer back, and the real story is unveiled. Sidney Poitier is a brilliant homicide investigator passing through town. Rod Steiger is the bigoted town sheriff. Both men must overcome their own biases to solve the crime. Five decades have not withered the film’s potency. In the Heat of the Night is still a powerful cinematic experience.

DO THE RIGHT THING (1989)

It wasn’t Spike Lee’s first film, but it was his first great film. A pizzeria on a sweltering Brooklyn day serves as the hub of racial unrest that simmers along the periphery. When tempers finally explode, the violent conflict between whites and blacks is almost biblical. Though Do the Right Thing is over 30 years old, the visceral anger that it captured is timeless—and was reflected in the faces of Black Lives Matter protesters this year.

OJ: MADE IN AMERICA (2016)

Perhaps the least interesting component to Ezra Edelman’s eighthour opus to the disgraced sports hero is his football career. OJ: Made in America excels when it meticulously recounts the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, and the salacious trial that followed. But the Oscar-winning documentary soars when it recounts, in painful detail, the generations of systemic racism African Americans have faced at the hands of the LAPD. Unforgiving and unforgettable.

I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO (2017)

“I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually,” James Baldwin once wrote. Apart from his almost peerless talent as a writer, it was Baldwin’s righteous anger toward the infrastructure of American racism that will be his legacy. Director Raoul Peck’s Oscar-nominated documentary on Baldwin is a fitting homage to the writer, his lifelong activism, and his quest for racial equality.

WHEN THEY SEE US (2019)

Director Ava DuVernay helms this unflinching dramatization of the Central Park jogger case in 1989, in which five innocent young men of color were convicted of raping a white woman. When They See Us brilliantly captures the race-fueled witch hunt that set a series of injustices in motion, as well as the psychological damage the five men endured in and out of prison.

WHEN THEY SEE US

Emmanuel Acho

Following the death of George Floyd this past May, the topic of race relations and the long-standing tension reached a breaking point. Enter Emmanuel Acho, a sports analyst and retired NFL player. Acho sat down and addressed some of the questions he says his white brothers and sisters have, but which they are too afraid to ask. That initial video has garnered millions of views. So, Acho began his YouTube series Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man (UncomfortableConvos. com) to “provide a free space for curious white people to answer the questions they’ve always had but have been too nervous to ask.” Acho says that if we want to move forward, white people are going to have to educate themselves and be open to engaging in some uncomfortable conversations.

Some of the issues and questions Acho has addressed include interracial relationships, the role of the broken black family, how to talk to kids about racial issues, white privilege, and the hurt African Americans are feeling today. Guests on the show have been actor Matthew McConaughey, Chip and Joanna Gaines and family, and gold medalists Lindsey Vonn and P.K. Subban. In November, a book with the same goal and name as the series will be published.

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