{Fantastic Fest 2022} A Life on the Farm

You may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks but A Life on the Farm is proof you can teach them new memes. Festivals were made for a movie like A Life on the Farm. Ostensibly a found footage documentary A Life on the Farm examines the full length film that Charles Carson a rural English farmer created to ease his loneliness and the burden of carrying for his aging family. Carson himself is no spring chicken so the film also documents his own aging. As his family passes away around him he documents everything including his own resilient spirit.

If I were to tell you that most of the film centers around Carson’s own DIY full length feature film which highlights the birth of calves (in graphic detail), the puppetry of dead cats (in graphic detail), and cameo’s of his dead mother (in graphic detail) you would think it might be a weird downer. Somehow as the film unfolds Carson’s unwavering devotion to his art it seems to reassure all of us who create or consume art that even in the hardest, loneliest moments of our life we can find beauty in the mundane. Moreover the world feels a little less lonely when we can share that beauty with other people. Carson did not live to see this documentary.

As the film points out he would have had an absolute blast on the festival circuit. The movie itself highlights just how ahead of his time Carson was. He was an influencer in training before TikTok was even a thing. His ability to manipulate the absurd in such a genuine and authentic manner made me feel lucky to meet him, even if it was through a screen years after his passing.

I didn’t really know what to do with this film after the first twenty minutes. It was quirky and odd but entirely charming in what it asks of the audience. With a short run time (75 minutes) A Life on the Farm doesn’t ask much of us. Mostly it wants us to pull up a chair and hang out with Carson. The other members of documentary share how they stumbled upon the footage or came to know Carson as a member of the community. The film wants us to witness his life. I can’t help but think I am a better person for it. In a world where authenticity is capital Life on the Farm is worth a million dollars.

Even the weird shit that happens in this film, namely the death of his mother and how the camera still records her after she dies has a wholesomeness to it. While rural communities typically don’t share my politics they still feel deeply deeply personal to me. I grew up visiting my grandparents in Coffeyville, Kansas. The night my grandma died, we played board games with her. At the time it felt macabre but after viewing Life on the Farm I think I have changed my mind. Like Carson asking us to bear witness to his weird and quirky life, we all were there to bear witness. We were also there to celebrate, but mostly just witness and to share in the emotions of the moment.

The great irony is that while Carson has given us this gift, his film seems to be a way of dealing with his own grief and loneliness. That only makes it feel like more of a gift. Do yourself a favor. Find a screening of Life on the Farm. Here at Fantastic Fest, or somewhere else later. You won’t regret it. I have never seen a film that is both lonely and so full of joy.