DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: THE GREENHORNS
The Greenhorns is a documentary film focusing on the growing movement of young people going back to the land. They are a passionate group dedicated to local food, backyard gardens, small homesteads and family farms. We, as a generation, are reclaiming the land to be farmed; and we’re doing it in a way that benefits the environment and human community surrounding it. This documentary is like a big high five to the young farmers who are using trial and error to make a go at starting a business based around sustainable, ecological practices. They’re starting CSA’s, farm stands, heirloom nurseries, home based businesses; and all to support the health of their land and local communities.
Courtesy of The Greenhorns
The sheer diversity of the farms profiled in this film is stunning. There are farms profiled from Upstate New York to sunny California, to places in between. I do wish there was one farm profiled from my home state of Michigan as it’s my home state, but there were farms from all across the US that were profiled. This film beautifully captures all of the feelings mixed in with farming- the love, the work, the laughter, the joy and the frustration. All of these feelings are conveyed through the anecdotes of the individual farmer; from the first romance with the land to the prospects and projects imagined and the heartbreak of failure.
Farms are profiled by their passionate workers as well as with stunning cinematography. This film captures the life and vibrancy found on these farms. There are small, simple moments of fleeting beauty and grand moments of majestic grace captured by the camera lens. Nature is a critical part of these farmers’ lives, and the independence gained is central to the lives they chose to carve out. This documentary is a heartening call to reacquaint ourselves with the cyclic motion of life. These farms all have one thing in common: a belief that taking care of their land will in turn take care of them and their communities. The core goal from sustainable farming is to be able to care for people in a profound way, in cahoots with Mother Nature.
