There's enough original footage and recent commentary that you, the viewer, can draw your own conclusions about the Grand Experiment formally known as The Farm. It's all there. The Farm has always been known for it's blunt honesty, and the film is certainly honest enough (and unbiased enough) for the viewer to draw her own conclusions.
My mind focused mainly on the history and the economics of The Farm. And that part of the movie was fleshed out in enough detail to provide plenty of food for thought.
But how the movie spoke to my heart is more difficult to put into words. I visited The Farm when I was young, and it was indeed like visiting a foreign country. In fact, I've never visited a foreign country that seemed anywhere near as different as visiting The Farm did.
When my heart quietly reflects on the movie, I see the beauty of the land. The children walk to school through the forest, and are perfectly safe in doing so. In fact, they're perfectly safe, no matter where they go and what they do. How different from America!
Just looking at the people's faces as they're talking taught me so much. By comparison to the faces of most Americans, they're alive with emotion. They haven't had an upbringing which has beaten them down or broken them, or drained the life out of them.
Their upbringing was both impoverished and strict. The strict rules are well-intentioned, and generally derived from hippie culture. Because it was so strict, I was asking myself, "Was this a cult?" And I'd say no. Even though Stephen Gaskin was unquestionably the leader of The Farm, he was a very benign dictator. Not always right, but always concerned for what was best for the community, rather than what was best for himself.
My mind focused mainly on the history and the economics of The Farm. And that part of the movie was fleshed out in enough detail to provide plenty of food for thought.
But how the movie spoke to my heart is more difficult to put into words. I visited The Farm when I was young, and it was indeed like visiting a foreign country. In fact, I've never visited a foreign country that seemed anywhere near as different as visiting The Farm did.
When my heart quietly reflects on the movie, I see the beauty of the land. The children walk to school through the forest, and are perfectly safe in doing so. In fact, they're perfectly safe, no matter where they go and what they do. How different from America!
Just looking at the people's faces as they're talking taught me so much. By comparison to the faces of most Americans, they're alive with emotion. They haven't had an upbringing which has beaten them down or broken them, or drained the life out of them.
Their upbringing was both impoverished and strict. The strict rules are well-intentioned, and generally derived from hippie culture. Because it was so strict, I was asking myself, "Was this a cult?" And I'd say no. Even though Stephen Gaskin was unquestionably the leader of The Farm, he was a very benign dictator. Not always right, but always concerned for what was best for the community, rather than what was best for himself.