LouHomey From my favorite movies..

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

ahayde1 My family and I saw this movie at the Chicago premiere, where Farmer John held a Q&A session afterward. I was afraid my son would be bored (he's an antsy fourth-grader), but because we've been members of a CSA farm for he past three years, I thought he would do well to sit and learn. By the end of the movie, he was asking me whether we could sign up for a share at Angelic Organics! Even if you're not into CSA farming, though, this story is an inspiration... for anyone who's loved and lost, or who's failed at something that meant everything to them, this movie will touch your heart. Bring tissues because unless you're a stone or just not paying attention, you'll be teary-eyed at least once. I thought Taggart also did an excellent job filming this movie and culling years of videos toward the end result: a moving, inspirational film. The only negative I saw about this movie, and it's probably a result of the directors and writers wanting to have a positive, uplifting message, is that I don't think there was much exposition on why the family farmer has become largely extinct. I would have liked to see more about corporate agriculture and the dangers is poses -- thus making CSA farms all the more important.That being said, many movies that seek to provoke social change have an air of guilt about them; you feel bad that you don't do more, or you get the sense that things are so bad that it's not even worth trying. This movie did the opposite; I left feeling like the world was worth saving after all. I believe seeing this movie made me a better person.

white_weddings I watched this entire "documentary" at the Nashville Film Festival. First, I think the film is staged and I felt dirty after leaving the screening. Certain scenes in the film are obviously orchestrated between filmmaker and filmmee/subject. Second, farmer John acted during the entire film! How can this film be classified as a documentary for this simple reason? There was too much collaboration between farmer John and the director, and these conspirators' agreements magnified through the entire film. The film presents everything on the farm through rose colored glasses, and presents Mexico as the "exotic other" where farmer John travels to find "relief" in a "mysterious" world filled with superstition. What a load of dirt! One sentence summary: bring soap with you to watch this film; through careful observation, you'll feel soiled after you leave the theater due to deception, trickery, and artificial "documentary" film-making!

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!

Robert Oliver A strange story for sure, but one that made me cry in public, which doesn't happen. Farmer John is a very unique soul, but a good one. Even if you don't dig the cross-dressing or the purity of his vegetables, the tales of farmers, the land, and the love of the good earth is incredible and one we should not forget. When the old farmer explains how once good farmland has been covered up by asphalt and subdivisions, if your eyes don't at least water then there's something wrong with you. I am a computer science professor who can't go without email for more than eight hours, but this film reminded me that my father was a farmer in the 1930's and made me remember how much I loved having a little garden on my parents' 5 acre garden when I was a little kid.This is a work of a man's lifetime, and the lifetime of a man who has done good work all his life. I'm a bit biased because I'm fortunate enough to know Farmer John a little, but I only came to know him after I saw this film and realized what a good guy he is. If it helps just one person or (more importantly) one farm, I'm sure he'll be happy.This film made me want to be a good guy again. I highly recommend it to anyone who eats food or longs for a reason to continue doing so.