A terrific 2014 documentary about then-eighty-year-old Danish pioneer of biodynamic farming, Niels Stokholm. Beautiful in vision, sound and thought, the movie introduces Stokholm's ideas with absolute clarity. Stokholm is not a simple idealist, but a highly educated man, who has thought his every step through. Via many examples this genuinely emphatic movie shows how everything has a purpose. A case in point: the horns of cattle, which are routinely chopped off, serve a purpose in regulating the cow's appetite. Everything connects with everything and man really shouldn't tamper with the fragile tapestry which surrounds and includes us.
The director spent 2½ years with her subject. When the movie came out, it influenced a political change into more support for sustainable farming. (And, of course, six months later, when the government changed, that legislation went out the window). The only point of criticism would be the sometimes leisurely pacing. Otherwise, this is an examplery documentary, talking about heavy topics in a life-affirming way. Stokholm's greatest lesson might be to simply love animals that feed you. As shown by him, they love you back.
