Movie-The Garden

The Garden was nominated for an Oscar, in the best documentary film category. It did not win.

The Garden (2008) is a terrific documentary. I love documentary films that take a subject that few know about, and really show how important it is, and how it pertains to all of us, and The Garden did that to the Nth degree.

The story really starts after the Rodney king riots tore up LA, especially south-central. One of the things to come out of the mis-justice and subsequent urban unrest was that a 14-acre abandoned plot in the district was offered as an urban garden for residents.

And it thrived. Aerial shots show a swath of verdant green amidst warehouses and concrete. Worked mostly by people of Hispanic culture, it thrived, growing food for residents of this blighted area.

Until 2004. When suddenly all the farmers faced eviction from the land they had tended for a decade. A land with fully grown fruit trees and plowed fields that produced corn and squash and myriad other fruits and vegetables. The urban farmers were heart-broken, but felt there was no way to fight it, as they did not even understand why this happened.

But there were a few leaders in the group that were determined not only to find out why, but to fight it. What they found out was a political payoff plot, between a LA city-council woman, a urban activist that sold out for huge profits, and selfish, piggish son-of-a-bitch man, who "owned" the property.

After the King riots, the city used eminent domain and bought this land for 5 million. But in 2004, in a closed door, behind-the-scenes deal, they sold it back to him...for the SAME amount of money! Why did the city not profit? Because the city council woman and the urban activist had a scam going.

You see, this film is not just about the garden. It is about politicians run amok, who no longer care about the people the represent, but only about their power and profit. And it starts locally and works its way up to Congress and the White House. It is about people fighting with all their might for what is right and good and just, and still getting screwed by a political system that is no longer about justice, but about power.

The Garden is a lesson, a fable. The bad part--- it is true.

This movie is by turns uplifting and sad. It can break your heart and move you to action, to at least watchfulness and concern. It is a excellent piece of documentary film making.