Review: In 'Biggest Little Farm,' a journey back to the land

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Review: In 'Biggest Little Farm,' a journey back to the land

2019-05-08 23:18 Last Updated At：23:30

"The Biggest Little Farm" is a documentary with the title, and much of the rosy fantasy, of a picture book. John and Molly Chester didn't, like Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, buy a zoo. But they got start-up investors to help them purchase a 213-acre farm just north of Los Angeles.

"Not just any farm," John says of their ambitions for an old-school, biodiverse plot. "We're talking about something out of a children's book."

When they excitedly survey their new land, the couple, newly liberated from day-jobs and a cramped Santa Monica apartment near Los Angeles, bubble with anticipation. "I wonder if we can grow bananas," says Molly.

The imagined romance of agrarian life has long been the stuff of daydreams, from "Anna Karenina" to "Shaun the Sheep." ''The Biggest Little Farm," which chronicles the eight years that followed for the Chesters, captures what happens when two city folk try to really do what many urbanites only imagine before determining that we could never, really, bring ourselves to wear overalls.

The steep learning curve for the Chesters is steeper, still, because they aren't merely dipping their toe into farming. Unlike the mono-crop farms all around them, their Apricot Lane Farms will be a restorative farm with its own self-perpetuating ecosystem that, once up-and-running, coasts on nature's own cycles. There will be ducks and chickens and a bull and over 70 varieties of fruit. "Diversify, diversify, diversify," says their consultant Alan York, a surfer dude-type who speaks mystically about riding a farm like you would a wave.

Harmony, of course, proves elusive. Their bliss is constantly interrupted by the toil of daily farm life and a host of invaders: coyotes, snails and birds, not to mention drought and wildfires.

Capturing those pains was always part of the plan. Molly and John, who's also the film's director and narrator, began their quixotic journey documenting every step of the way, leading to previous segments on Oprah's OWN network. Their lives are laid out here for inspiration and envy, much like Joanna and Chip Gaines on HGTV's "Fixer Upper." The Chesters are about soil the way the Gaines are about shiplap.

"The 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.

But John, a former cameraman for Animal Planet, documents the place with "Planet Earth" specificity, with views from the microscopic to the aerial. And "The Biggest Little Farm" is most invested in capturing not the Chesters' renewal, but the rehabilitation of their land, from dried-out hillside to lush, recycling idyll.

And as much as it might seem silly to say about a long-term documentary composed significantly of people doing yard work, "The Biggest Little Farm" couldn't be more urgent. The United Nations, in its first comprehensive biodiversity report, on Monday said extinction is looming for more than 1 million species of plants and animals. On a planet overwhelmed by habitat loss, the Chesters managed to build an ark. We're going to need a lot more of them.

"The Biggest Little Farm," a Neon release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for mild thematic elements and brief language. Running time: 92 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

MPAA Definition of PG: Parental guidance suggested.

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

What to expect from CES 2026, the annual show of all things tech?

LAS VEGAS (AP) — With the start of the New Year squarely behind us, it's once again time for the annual CES trade show to shine a spotlight on the latest tech companies plan on offering in 2026.

The multi-day event, organized by the Consumer Technology Association, kicks off this week in Las Vegas, where advances across industries like robotics, healthcare, vehicles, wearables, gaming and more are set to be on display.

Artificial intelligence will be anchored in nearly everything, again, as the tech industry explores offerings consumers will want to buy. AI industry heavyweight Jensen Huang will be taking the stage to showcase Nvidia's latest productivity solutions, and AMD CEO Lisa Su will keynote to “share her vision for delivering future AI solutions.” Expect AI to come up in other keynotes, like from Lenovo's CEO, Yuanqing Yang.

The AI industry is out in full force tackling issues in healthcare, with a particular emphasis on changing individual health habits to treat conditions — such as Beyond Medicine's prescription app focused on a particular jaw disorder — or addressing data shortages in subjects such as breast milk production.

Expect more unveils around domestic robots too. Korean tech giant LG already has announced it will show off a helper bot named “ CLOiD,” which allegedly will handle a range of household tasks. Hyundai also is announcing a major push on robotics and manufacturing advancements. Extended reality, basically a virtual training ground for robots and other physical AI, is also in the buzz around CES.

In 2025, more than 141,000 attendees from over 150 countries, regions, and territories attended the CES. Organizers expect around the same numbers for this year’s show, with more than 3,500 exhibitors across the floor space this week.

The AP spoke with CTA Executive Chair and CEO Gary Shapiro about what to expect for CES 2026. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Well, we have a lot at this year's show.

Obviously, using AI in a way that makes sense for people. We’re seeing a lot in robotics. More robots and humanoid-looking robots than we’ve ever had before.

We also see longevity in health, there’s a lot of focus on that. All sorts of wearable devices for almost every part of the body. Technology is answering healthcare’s gaps very quickly and that’s great for everyone.

Mobility is big with not only self-driving vehicles but also with boats and drones and all sorts of other ways of getting around. That’s very important.

And of course, content creation is always very big.

You are seeing humanoid robots right now. It sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t.

But yes, there are more and more humanoid robots. And when we talk about CES 5, 10, 15, 20 years now, we’re going to see an even larger range of humanoid robots.

Obviously, last year we saw a great interest in them. The number one product of the show was a little robotic dog that seems so life-like and fun, and affectionate for people that need that type of affection.

But of course, the humanoid robots are just one aspect of that industry. There’s a lot of specialization in robot creation, depending on what you want the robot to do. And robots can do many things that humans can’t.

AI is the future of creativity.

Certainly AI itself may be arguably creative, but the human mind is so unique that you definitely get new ideas that way. So I think the future is more of a hybrid approach, where content creators are working with AI to craft variations on a theme or to better monetize what they have to a broader audience.

We’re seeing all sorts of different devices that are implementing AI. But we have a special focus at this show, for the first time, on the disability community. Verizon set this whole stage up where we have all different ways of taking this technology and having it help people with disabilities and older people.

Well, there’s definitely no bubble when it comes to what AI can do. And what AI can do is perform miracles and solve fundamental human problems in food production and clean air and clean water. Obviously in healthcare, it’s gonna be overwhelming.

But this was like the internet itself. There was a lot of talk about a bubble, and there actually was a bubble. The difference is that in late 1990s there were basically were no revenue models. Companies were raising a lot of money with no plans for revenue.

These AI companies have significant revenues today, and companies are investing in it.

What I’m more concerned about, honestly, is not Wall Street and a bubble. Others can be concerned about that. I’m concerned about getting enough energy to process all that AI. And at this show, for the first time, we have a Korean company showing the first ever small-scale nuclear-powered energy creation device. We expect more and more of these people rushing to fill this gap because we need the energy, we need it clean and we need a kind of all-of-the-above solution.