The Garden (2008)

I do not normally enjoy documentaries. In fact, I generally flatly reject them without regard to the topic. What irritates me about them is the interplay between fact and opinion that documentaries sometimes showcase but more often than not sweep under the rug. In short, movies ostensibly reporting “facts” and “situations” while actually just being some random yahoo’s hugely skewed opinions are not really my thing.

Nevertheless, when The Garden arrived in the mailbox, neatly sealed in its perforated red envelope, I politely conceded to watching it. Why not? It was already here and it was about a community farm in South Central Los Angeles. I just moved back to LA! Might as well take a peek at some current-ish local events.

About forty five minutes into watching it I realize I am really getting upset about these peoples' situation. South Central residents were given a plot of land for a community garden following the Rodney King riots of the early ‘90s. Great! But then, through a twisted series of questionably legal maneuvers, the city somehow ended up selling the land back to the original owner, who proceeded to try to evict the gardeners. The landowner did not realize what he was getting himself into. A huge legal battle with many ups and downs ensued.

I do not want to ruin the story for anyone so I will stop short of saying how the story plays out (although you could probably just look up the actual news events online). What I can say is that The Garden is a successful representation of the tenacity of people who for one reason or another enjoy working the land.

I think this movie achieved what it set out to do, which was to represent the side of the gardeners in this conflict. I cannot say that the movie did anything particularly innovative in the way it tells the story. If you are interested in social justice or urban farming initiatives, check it out.