Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Wednesday 15 May 2019
New doc chronicles how a California farming oasis came to be

By LINDSEY BAHR bought 200 acres of land
Associated Press 50 miles away from down-
MOORPARK, Calif. (AP) — town LA, in Moorpark, Cali-
John and Molly Chester, fornia, and they’d found
a filmmaker and a chef, an investor to fund the ad-
had made a decision that venture.
many urbanites only fan- The only problem? The land
tasize about: They decid- was dead and they knew
ed to leave their life in Los nothing about farming.
Angeles and start a farm Eight years later, visiting
that would function in har- the idyllic and suspicious-
mony with nature. Their ly lovely smelling Apricot
family and friends thought Lane Farms — where they
they were crazy, but they grow over 100 types of veg-
were determined. They’d etables, 75 types of fruit,

This April 17, 2019 photo shows John Chester, left, and his wife Molly, of the documentary film “The
Biggest Little Farm,” at Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark, Calif.
Associated Press
from avocado to citrus, affirming” to go back and tionships start to balance
and raise animals includ- watch how far they’ve things out and I was able to
ing cows, sheep, chickens, come. “It was about con- capture those things,” John
ducks, guinea hens and a tinuing to move forward in Chester said. “I knew at
pig named Emma — you’d the presence of great fail- that moment that we had
hardly know either of those ure and great embarrass- a very unique opportunity
things. But the Chesters ment,” he said. to tell a story.”
have pulled the curtain They didn’t set out to make The technique employed
back on what it took to get a film initially. John Ches- at Apricot Lane Farms is
there in the documentary ter had left the business something known as bio-
“The Biggest Little Farm,” behind, and, besides, he mimicry, which basically
which opens in select the- figured, they weren’t even relies on the idea that any
aters Friday. The film, which experts. Still, being a docu- problem can be solved
John Chester directed, mentarian at heart, he had through nature. They secret
does not gloss over the the itch to film nonethe- to everything, they say, is
hardships, the doubt and less and starting amass- in the soil and the cover
the occasional death that ing footage of everything crops that rebuilt the land
came with their dream of (mostly failures). But then and preserved the water.
not using chemicals on the five years in, things started “The food we grow tru-
crops or drugs on the ani- to change: The farm was ly is special,” said Molly
mals in this intimate look at actually working. Chester. “It’s very nutri-
how they made a biody- “We saw the return of so ent-dense and flavorful
namic farm out of nothing. much wildlife and we saw because we focus on soil
John Chester said it’s “life pest and predator rela- development.”q

Still kicking: Ralph Macchio revives

‘Karate Kid’ franchise

By ALICIA RANCILIO down on his luck. He’s living
Associated Press in a run-down apartment,
NEW YORK (AP) — After has just been fired from his
starring in three “Karate job as a handy man, and
Kid” films in the 1980s, Ralph he keeps seeing ads for
Macchio says he “basically Daniel LaRusso’s successful
said ‘no’ for 30 years” to car dealerships. Lawrence
ideas for more. ends up opening his own
“It felt better and smarter Cobra Kai karate studio
to leave the legacy alone,” (using the same aggres-
said Macchio, who is now sive principles that he was
57. He didn’t want to “taint taught and displayed in
the legacy with a short- the films) and LaRusso dis-
sighted idea or cash grab.” covers it driving by. In this May 1, 2019 file photo,
The “Cobra Kai” creators A martial arts rivalry is reig- Ralph Macchio arrives at the
Billboard Music Awards at the
changed his mind with an nited as if it were yesterday. MGM Grand Garden Arena in
idea about a half-hour se- “You would think some Las Vegas.
ries streaming on YouTube high school nemesis open- Associated Press
Premium. It takes place 34 ing up a karate dojo would what’s fun about the John-
years after the first movie. be like, ‘You know what? ny Lawrence/LaRusso rival-
Former nemesis Johnny Let him have his thing’ but ry, is that they push each
Lawrence (again played for LaRusso, it snaps back other’s buttons,” said Mac-
by William Zabka) defines into yesterday and that’s chio.