The Female Gaze review - GOOD THINGS AWAIT by Phie Ambo

The biodynamic way is the only way for farmer Niels, central subject of the documentary Good Things Await by Phie Ambo, which was presented at the 27th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.
 
In an age of growing awareness and concernsfor global warming and other environmental issues, it is refreshing and indeed rewarding to hear the views of a passionate 80-year-old farmer from Denmark named Niels Stokholm, who runs a fam in accordance with spiritual laws by utilising a method named biodynamic farming and promoting it as the way of the future. He is the charming central character of the film, and as a subject in a documentary, there ar naturally cinematic elements in his personalities that make his presence all the more imposing on he big screen. Ambo glorifies this heroic side of his personality by filming him as a lone ranger, from the bottom up or placing him in front of string lighting accentuating his identity and amplifying to mythical proportions. This playfulness in style is wonderful but not overplayed. Good Things Await also provides him with a right platform to promote his views and reach a wider and hopefully more intertaional audience.
Yet, despite its support to the farmer's views and its sensibility to his personality, Good Things Await is far from being the aggressive type of environmentalist melodrama one might be forgiven to expect. In other words, this film does not try to indoctrinate or even patronise its audiene. Channelling the deep but down to earth spirituality of her central subject, as well as his calm and intensity, Phie Ambo understands that there is no need to raise her voice to make these views heard. 
 
Thus, on a narrative level, struggle arises when Niels is threatened by government bodies and he might lose his land when, after an inspection, a flaw in his disposal of cow excrement lands him a dangerous claim. We, as the viewers know, however, that he is a good man who treats his animals so well that he goes so far as naming each one of them. On top of that, the satire is understated yet evident in the element of paradox that the same government bodies fail to do anything about the tramping over animal welfare taking place in farms run by entrepeneurs much richer and more powerful than our wise old man Niels. They are the same people who ignore, oppose or sometimes ridicule his views on farming - unsurprisingly given the strong consumerist idealisms of today's society.
 
Yet, despite the tension of the events, the pace remains calm and admirably so. Phie Ambo even allows herself moments of absolute visual poetry, allowing herself to break the relentless pace of the story by stalling and placing the camera on particular spots of land, paying homage to the beauty provided by mother earth. These are moments of great meditation for the viewer, as well as downright cinematographic eye candy. These are moments that will no doubt play important role in creating a conflict within its viewers and start debates on whether biodynamic farming truly is the way of the future.

Good Things Await (Så meget godt i vente) from Danish Documentary on Vimeo.