American Farm on AllMovie

Filmmaker James Spione simultaneously demystifies and pays tribute to a dying way of life with this documentary concerning his family's hundred year old farm. Located in Richfield Springs, New York and situated on land that has been in the family for over 150 years, the Ames family dairy farm has been handed down to five generations of sons. The current proprietor, Langdon Ames, has been operating the farm since his early twenties. Now in his seventies and looking to retire, Langdon must face the harsh reality that none of his descendents are willing to take over the farm - a bitter fact that the filmmaker credits to such contributing factors as globalization, the rising corporatism of agriculture, and the shrinking sense of community in small-town America. As Ames ponders the prospect of selling the farm that has been the epicenter of family life for generations, what emerges is an affecting snapshot of an oft misunderstood, and distinctly American institution.