73
Metascore
27 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The Film StageJohn FinkThe Film StageJohn FinkWhile a cynic could dismiss the film as branded content for Apricot Lane Farms, the film isn’t making a sales pitch for their products. Rather, it’s a captivating personal journey with a concern for harmony and a gentle sense of humor.
- 80VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeBoth deeply personal and remarkably objective, The Biggest Little Farm offers a firsthand account of the ups and downs of married duo John and Molly Chester’s trial-and-error attempt to start a biodiverse agricultural operation on land that had long since been stripped of nutrients.
- 80The New York TimesGlenn KennyThe New York TimesGlenn KennyIf you’ve entertained “Green Acres”-inspired reveries on the joys of “farm living,” this documentary may rid you of them in short order. But it may also revive your wonder at the weird but ultimately awe-inspiring ways in which humans can help nature do its work.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyRunning a farm is a tough life of never-ending work, and once the film drops its initial idealization of back-to-the-land fantasies in favor of a more realistic assessment of the challenges involved, it becomes genuinely involving and heartening.
- 70Screen DailyDavid D'ArcyScreen DailyDavid D'ArcyMost of those who’ll see The Biggest Little Farm will be drawn by its ardent, gentle idealism, and less by its hard-headed look at the challenges of sustainable farming.
- 67The PlaylistThe PlaylistThe Chesters have created something truly stunning and want to share it with the world. I’m sold on the lifestyle but as a film, their approach doesn’t make for the most compelling drama.
- 63Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenThe film is often quite moving in spite of its evasions, suggesting a real-life Charlotte’s Web, but one wonders what an artist with a bit more distance might’ve made of such rich material.
- 63The Associated PressJake CoyleThe Associated PressJake CoyleThe Biggest Little Farm can at times feel like a larger, better-produced version of the kind of viral video that spreads on Facebook, equal parts uplifting and self-congratulating. It’s a self-contained film about a self-contained paradise.
- 50The A.V. ClubVikram MurthiThe A.V. ClubVikram MurthiThe Biggest Little Farm has many valuable points to make about the connection between how our food is grown and eco-friendly living, but style betrays substance so often here that the message gets lost in the shuffle. Unless that message is simply We Bought A Farm!