On Her Own

A remarkable documentary charting four years in the life of a fifth-generation rancher-farmer named Nancy Prebilich, filmmaker Morgan Schmidt-Feng's On Her Own tells a haunting, tragic story about the fate of family farms in America today. The story begins in 2009, at the beginning of the Great Recession, as Nancy, her parents, and her sister's family—all sharing a large farm with horses, pigs, cows, fowl, and rabbits—begin to feel the pinch of a collapsing economy. Nancy, single and youthful, is unafraid of hard, physical work and being mindful of her parents' age she becomes more involved with learning all aspects of the ranching operation. As the years pass, Nancy's foals die, monthly mortgages go unpaid, the land and buildings fall into disrepair, and family tensions flare as disagreements arise about how to hold onto a joint livelihood. Throughout, the film captures all aspects of work on a family farm—the emotional highs and lows, daily dramas, hopes, and disappointments. Nancy becomes wiser while also growing somewhat more resigned (she ages considerably in the face of mounting burdens), yet her capacity for reinvention and overriding generosity of spirit are deeply inspiring. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P (T. Keogh)