So what would you do with a fine piece of fertile land, provided you had the leisure and the agricultural and horticultural know-how ? Would you turn your acres into an elaborate baroque garden à la Versailles ? Would you return them to nature so that they could become prairie or woods ? Would you fill them with more varieties of fragrant roses than you could shake a stick at ? This independent documentary follows a gentleman from Buffalo, USA who likes to grow really, REALLY big pumpkins.
Unfortunately the technical side of the documentary (lighting, image sharpness, editing,...) isn't anything to write home about. So the documentary is best appreciated for its contents, rather than its style. The said contents consist mainly of the life and times of an ageing gentleman who likes growing pumpkins the size of baby elephants. When not watching vigilantly over his plants - you never know what a sudden burst of hail might do to vulnerable leaves - he talks about his hobby in school or interacts with other pumpkin aficionados. Every now and then he travels to some regional show where his prize specimens get weighed, which demands a lot of logistics.
If the documentary reflects reality, then this particular subculture is pretty friendly and mellow : far from eyeing each other with festering envy, devotees happily exchange tips, tricks and even seed material. Moreover, many of the giant vegetables end up in playgrounds or charity displays. The whole is set against a typically American background of agricultural fairs, parades and exhibitions.
"Bill's Big Pumpkins" can be watched with a certain degree of pleasure, mainly for its Americana aspect. However, viewers hoping for depth, insight or poetry may be disappointed. It's all very nice, very comfortable and very superficial. A group of friendly people grow enormous pumpkins, and that's it.
Unfortunately the technical side of the documentary (lighting, image sharpness, editing,...) isn't anything to write home about. So the documentary is best appreciated for its contents, rather than its style. The said contents consist mainly of the life and times of an ageing gentleman who likes growing pumpkins the size of baby elephants. When not watching vigilantly over his plants - you never know what a sudden burst of hail might do to vulnerable leaves - he talks about his hobby in school or interacts with other pumpkin aficionados. Every now and then he travels to some regional show where his prize specimens get weighed, which demands a lot of logistics.
If the documentary reflects reality, then this particular subculture is pretty friendly and mellow : far from eyeing each other with festering envy, devotees happily exchange tips, tricks and even seed material. Moreover, many of the giant vegetables end up in playgrounds or charity displays. The whole is set against a typically American background of agricultural fairs, parades and exhibitions.
"Bill's Big Pumpkins" can be watched with a certain degree of pleasure, mainly for its Americana aspect. However, viewers hoping for depth, insight or poetry may be disappointed. It's all very nice, very comfortable and very superficial. A group of friendly people grow enormous pumpkins, and that's it.