Director: Julie Perron
Country: Canada
Runtime: 77 min
Rating: G
Food is something many people take for granted every day. Although most of us eat several times daily, we rarely stop to think about how the food that we consume in order to live got onto our plates and into our mouths. In Julie Perron’s documentary The Sower (2013), vegetables are examined from an entirely new perspective. The film is slow, and the topic may be dull, but there is nonetheless something to be learned here for those who appreciate food and where it comes from, and this film will certainly appeal to a niche audience.
This film focuses on the unique individual Patrice Fortier, a gardener living in Quebec’s Kamouraska Valley who spends his days preserving rare heirloom plants. The film follows Fortier as he works in his garden and sells his seeds at a market through his company, La Société Des Plantes, where he interacts with dedicated growers and consumers of heirloom vegetables. He regularly takes the time to explain his thoughts and methods to the audience, revealing his extensive knowledge of and deep passion in his work, but is also often content to simply labour in silence. Although the film introduces a few other eccentric characters, its primary concern is Fortier as he pollinates his seeds, cares for his plants, sells his wares, and scans his vegetables, all with the goal of preservation. This film attempts to show this topic through his perspective, although the extent to which it effectively does so is to be debated.
The Sower benefits greatly from director Perron’s intriguing camerawork and beautiful lighting. Fortier began his farming as an art project through which he desired to combine art and agriculture, and this film clearly shares the same goal. Perron’s highly artistic techniques result in a film that looks as though it must be fiction. Unfortunately, I soon found myself wishing for this to actually be the case, as the nonfiction subject matter was simply not interesting enough to hold my attention. Fortier’s work is very meticulous and slow, as is the film about it, and it is difficult to watch a feature length film about a man preserving seeds, even if it attempts to relay his perspective. The subject is significant, however, and possibly would have been more suited to a short documentary.
It is definitely possible to appreciate the importance of sower Fortier’s work, especially as an audience is exposed to his extreme care and passion for a job that he approaches with an almost religious reverence. Those who care about fresh food will certainly enjoy learning about this process, as well as appreciate the lovely way in which the film is shot. Unfortunately, however, a film about a man preserving seeds simply does not hold enough interest to last a feature length. Such a topic could have made for an intriguing and effective short documentary, as the film is well crafted in all other aspects. Fortier may have limitless patience, but most filmgoers, myself included, do not.
