critics consensus

Ostensibly a bio about an eccentric farmer, The Real Dirt on Farmer John also doubles as a stirring exploration of man's common struggle with loss and prejudice. Read critic reviews

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The Real Dirt on Farmer John Photos

A scene from the film "The Real Dirt on Farmer John."

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Movie Info

Filmmaker Taggart Siegel captures two turbulent decades in the life of John Peterson, an Illinois farmer who not only tends the land but also delves into writing and performance art. A man who would as soon work the fields in a feather boa as in a pair of jeans, Peterson rises out of the bankruptcy and depression plaguing Midwest farm communities in the 1980s and saves his livelihood through organic agriculture.

Genre:

documentary
Original Language:

English
Director:

Taggart Siegel
Producer:

Teri Lang
Writer:

John Peterson
Release Date (Theaters):

Jun 8, 2007 limited
Release Date (Streaming):

Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA):

$34.3K
Runtime:

1h 22m
Production Co:

Collective Eye

Cast & Crew

Taggart Siegel
Director

John Peterson
Writer

Teri Lang
Producer

Critic Reviews for The Real Dirt on Farmer John

All Critics (42) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (37) | Rotten (5)

... outstanding documentary ...

July 26, 2007 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Kevin Crust
Los Angeles Times
It's fascinating that this portrait of the rise, fall and rise of Midwestern organic farmer John Peterson can be read in so many different ways, only some of which appear intentionally in Taggart Siegel's sympathetic documentary.

July 26, 2007

Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly
Of interest even to those not particularly interested in the subject of farming.

July 25, 2007

Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter
A beguiling combination of agrarian ode and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, deepened by Peterson's square sincerity as he struggles to find himself in relation to his family's land.

July 6, 2007 | Full Review…

J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
The Real Dirt on Farmer John turns into a portrait of how American family farming could blossom for a new century.

July 5, 2007 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
Warmhearted.

June 23, 2007 | Rating: 3/6 | Full Review…

Joshua Land
Time Out
It also, not incidentally, an inspiring vision of the way forward for food production, a portrait of what Peterson calls "a dead farm coming back to life". After reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, it may be just the antidote you need.

April 25, 2008 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Peter Calder
New Zealand Herald
Inspiring, instructive, humorous, dramatic and moving, The Real Dirt on Farmer John is something special

October 21, 2007 | Full Review…

Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
The Real Dirt on Farmer John offers no discovery or mystery into the Peterson family or their farm, only matter-of-fact self-importance.

September 17, 2007 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

Christopher Campbell
Cinematical
Yes, John Peterson is a flake, but he's a likable oddball, a rebel you can get behind.

July 27, 2007 | Rating: 3/4

Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News
Despite an occasional tendency to ramble on and hold forth, it stands as a worthwhile tale of down-home alternative Americana.

July 20, 2007 | Full Review…

Andrew Wright
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
A triumph of baby boomer ideals, that work and art can and ought to coexist.

July 19, 2007 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

Gianni Truzzi
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

View All Critic Reviews (42)

Audience Reviews for The Real Dirt on Farmer John

Jun 04, 2014

I think it is quite telling that a progressive farmer albeit one who is a bit eccentric is targeted instead of embraced. A lesson in how society deals with new ideas in a not so positive manner.

John B Super Reviewer