Movies |
The Soul of a Farmer
By
Published: Oct 18, 2021
Category:
Documentary
If you were going to bet on the prospects of a Roger Sherman film to win an award, you would be smart to bet it would. He’s been nominated twice for the Academy Award, he’s won an Emmy and a Peabody, “The Restaurateur “ won the James Beard Award, and the rest of his honors start to read like overkill. His favorite subject seems to be food, which isn’t surprising, considering that he’s married to Dorothy Kalins, co-author of five-star cookbooks and the recent memoir, The Kitchen Whisperers.
I’ve written before that I’m close with these people, but I should quickly point out that my interest in food does not extend to growing it, which is the subject of “The Soul of a Farmer,” currently streaming on Apple TV, iTunes, and Vimeo. And while I like organic vegetables as much as any other New York food snob, this 32-minute documentary was as exhausting to watch as it was exhilarating — I can’t imagine the commitment and sweat Patty Gentry puts into her Brookhaven, Long Island farm.
Yes, it’s only three acres, but that’s quite a lot when you have Olympian standards. Isabella Rossellini, the movie star and activist who owns the land, says that “Patty encourages me to take her garbage to my animals, but I go through it first, because she throws away things other farmers would sell.”
“To make a healthy living, all you need is three acres,” Gentry says. It’s taken her a decade to be able to say this. She started providing farm-to-table vegetables to chefs, she had a farm stand, and only in the last few years has she converted her business to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Even now, Jennifer Lasker, who is her partner and wife, provides crucial support. “If I didn’t have Jen, I would probably still be farming, but I would most likely be living out of the back of my truck,” Gentry admits.
It’s thrilling to watch anyone who is so dedicated to her work — watch the video — and enjoys it so much. The drama of organic farming begins early for her: “The soil tells a story through the plant.” The plants, like children, develop specific personalities and needs: “There’s a three-week period in the summertime when I have so many tomatoes, I used to call myself a tomato pimp.” But there’s no such thing as a chore: “Every time I plant a seed, I relive a dish I’ve eaten.” And the reward? “I think of each person [in the CSA] as I cut their vegetables.”
“Admire a large vineyard, cultivate a small one,” Virgil wrote. Patty Gentry is proof. This level of enterprise sustains her. Even better, it gives her genuine joy that she is eager to share. Her website is jargon-free. Subscribers get a newsletter with cooking suggestions and recipes. And open-hearted prose: “I want you to know we think about you all week and anticipate with joy your arrival at the farm on Saturday mornings….” The signoff is poetry: “Like a rose under the April snow…. Patty.”
Roger Sherman’s documentary has just that spirit. It’s earthy and fresh and crunchy. And it’s that rarest of films: a love letter.
