A Small Good Thing

Filmmaker Pamela Tanner Boll's initially tepid but ultimately meaningful documentary focuses on a handful of people who are trying to live more principled lives in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. Boll introduces us to several military veterans who left the service either damaged or yearning for family and community; one finds relief through cycling and revisiting his Native American roots, while another takes up sustainable farming along with his wife. A pastor's spouse overcomes her introversion by working with kids in a program called Youth Alive, while a yoga teacher conquers his restive nature through his practice and becomes a better father in the bargain. There are a few others in the mix, and while the film seems weak early on at making these folks seem three-dimensional, it becomes increasingly relevant when they begin to intersect in each other's lives. Eschewing the “more is better” philosophy, the interviewees here also struggle with finding a balance between values and survival. When a vegetarian farmer, who is visibly anxious but in need of chickens, goes to a poultry grower, Boll doesn't shrink from capturing the moment when several free-range birds are slit across the throat. But this same chicken farmer wrestles with his conscience when it comes to killing pigs. And there's an inspiring sequence in which some of the interviewees volunteer to go to Rwanda to teach updated farming techniques. Extras include deleted scenes. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)