American Experience (TV Series) Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern (1995) User Reviews

Oscar-nominated and deserving, too!

[elipton · 8/10 · 18 October 1999]

As out-of-step and controversial as the nominating committees for the Documentary branch of the Academy Awards are (failing to nominate notable documentaries like "Roger & Me", "Paris is Burning", and "Hoop Dreams" among countless others), they did good when they put "Troublesome Creek: a Midwestern" into the final five.

This is a heart-crushing, anger-inspiring, and all-too-real portrayal of the changing priorities in the United States, in regard to the role of family, farming, and small-town life. At the same time, it's an incredibly warm and even at times humorous film. At all times it's fascinating.

There is an incredible scene about a third through set at a livestock auction. If, like me, you've spent most of your life living in decidedly non-rural places you'll just be amazed to get a glimpse into a ritual that only decades ago would have been familiar to most Americans. Things have really changed, which is what this film is about. There is just a part of us that has an unwavering desire to fight to save a piece of earth, especially if we've got strong emotional attachments to the patch in question. At the same time, we're not merely fighting for a piece, we're fighting for our entire world as we know it.

The stark, folksy yet modern music of Sheldon Mirowitz is the perfect compliment to the direction, editing and cinematography of Jeanne Jordan and Stephen Ascher who, it should be noted, are not impartial documentarians; they're members of the family whose farm is threatened! The expansive Iowa landscapes are perfectly captured (I did live in that state for a few years myself), and if you thought the snowy frames added an extra sense of urgency to "Fargo", imagine how it could enhance the tension knowing the story's a true one! (For those of you fooled by the Coens' claim that their film was based on reality as well, consider that bubble bursted)

The only thing wrong with this movie is the fact that it's burdened by such an unwieldy, uncatchy, obscure title. But if you see the film you'll understand that its really the perfect title for this movie. Film buffs will be especially appreciative.

Clear eyed and intelligent

[runamokprods · 7/10 · 31 October 2016]

Touching, gentle documentary, made by a woman about her parents and family, as the face the likely loss of the family farm to the awful economics of modern family farming. Done with a light touch that keeps humor alive, and keeps the film from ever becoming maudlin, it shows how sometimes life's twists and turns, even the bad ones, lead us to places that are OK after all.

If there's any weakness, it's that sometimes in avoiding the sentimental it misses a bit of the emotion. Also, the fascinating insight it provides into the economic realities of family farming (as opposed to the romantic idea so many outsiders have) gets slightly short shrift. It would be great to understand even more than the tantalizing bits here why so many farmers can't make it.

But overall this is a clear-eyed and intelligent first-person report on the plight of the small, non- corporate farmer in America.

The abbreviated version of the film.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 28 December 2012]

"Troublesome Creek" is one of the most personal films I have ever seen--and a MAJOR departure from the typical sort of film seen on "The American Experience". It has been shown both as an episode of the show AND a movie in and of itself. In some ways, it's like a home movie and in others it's like a documentary showing a vanishing piece of American life. And, although the film has a film slow portions and is about very ordinary people without any glitz, it's amazing how compelling the story is and how the audience is pulled into caring about these people.

The film is about the Jordan family in Iowa. With rising costs and the bank at their heels, an older couple decide to sell out and move into town. They just need to be sure to earn enough from the sale to pay off the bank--that way their son will be able to farm the land after they retire.

"Troublesome Creek" is interesting because the film was made by their daughter, Jeanne Jordan--a woman who had previously worked on a few other projects for PBS--including "Frontline" and "Eyes on the Prize". She did a great job overall--making it very interesting and very good. My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that her analogy about the cowboys and the old west seemed vague and ill-defined. Still, a nice little film that manages not to be boring!

A personal story with a universal appeal

[howard.schumann · 3 November 2003]

Family farms have been a valuable component of American society and a source of traditional values since the founding of the Republic. Since 1981, as a result of government policies that favor agribusiness and food processor conglomerates, 750,000 farms have gone out of business at the cost of one million jobs in the rural economy. In the late 1980's, documentarian Jeanne Jordan along with Steven Ascher returned to her family's farm to help her parents when a new impersonal Regional bank called in a $220,000 debt. The farm in rural Iowa near the town of Rolfe that had survived the dust bowl, the depression, two world wars now faced foreclosure. The resulting documentary Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern was awarded both the Grand Jury Award and the Audience Award for best documentary at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award.

Narrated by Ms. Jordan (in a surprisingly unemotional manner), the Aschers filmed events as they took place and what they saw is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. The director explains, "I was raised on Westerns. Red River, High Noon, Gunsmoke--where the bad guys sometimes won but never prevailed. Our film is a Midwestern. It's the story of my family's farm in Iowa: From crossing the Mississippi by covered wagon in 1867 to driving to Daddy Date Night in 1967. From my great-grandfather fighting off the Crooked Creek Gang in the 1880's to my father fighting off foreclosure in the 1990's."

To keep the land that had been in the family's name for 125 years and still pay off the bank, the Jordans came up with a unique solution. They would auction off their livestock, machinery, and household goods and move to town while their son Jim and his family ran the farm as tenants. Watching the parents go through the trauma of selling off household goods that had been in the family for generations is sad (I can't even handle garage sales) but their courage and determination keeps it upbeat. This is not only the story of a family in crisis, it is also a story of growing old, letting go, and moving on. Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern is a personal story with a special feeling for the rural Midwest and a disappearing way of life that has a universal appeal.

Time Waits For No One

[valis1949 · 9/10 · 10 March 2009]

TROUBLESOME CREEK:A MIDWESTERN is a forlorn look at an American household who just happen to practice the venerable art and business of cultivating the soil and raising livestock for love and profit. Jeanne Jordan, and her husband Steven, present an intimate and heartwarming portrait of her family who for generations have farmed in Iowa, but now must face dramatic change. The value of farmland soared during the 1960's and farmers were able to borrow seemingly without limit. By the 80's value had stagnated, and financial institutions were forced to get tough. Although the film touches on the bank's new obsession with 'the bottom line', one can certainly understand their reasoning. Any business venture can be kept afloat if there is an unending line of credit, and the payoff is postponed indefinitely. However, for the most part, the film focuses on the The Jordan's plight as a result of this new policy on credit. Her parents decide that the only way out is to sell all of their possessions, pay off their loans, and thus regain ownership of the land. Then, they will move to a small rental home in town, and Jeanne's brother and his family will work the farm without debt. We witness the sad and cold (the auction takes place on a snowy January afternoon) disposal of the family's livestock, farm machinery, and household furnishings. They seem to be surrounded by a supportive and caring community, and the viewer is left with the feeling that The Jordans will be able to weather the storm of change that has nearly erased their old way of life. The film ends as together they watch the final scene in HIGH NOON where Gary Cooper throws down his badge, and strikes out on a new life-just like The Jordans.

Not just a story of failure

[Lel H · 9/10 · 28 July 2003]

Having grown up in the midwest, and having personally witnessed several "midwesterns" take place, this film reminded me again of the difficult life of the American farmer. We watch as generations of farmers are forced to give up their land and their livelihood, victims of the ever-changing agricultural marketplace. Their situation seems progressively more desperate, but at the end we see that though their farm has been taken, their dignity remains intact. They continue to live their lives - with changes, of course - but their strength as a family never was stronger. One can imagine that years from now, they will continue to be a permanent fixture on the rural American landscape.