Product Description

Step inside the passionate, troubled lives of Juanita and Darrel Buschkoetter as they cling to family and farm. Part documentary, part love story, THE FARMER'S WIFE eloquently blends harsh American farm life with the bittersweet drama of modern marriage. Darrel labors night and day for a bumper crop while Juanita cleans houses and finishes college. Despite heavy obstacles, they rediscover the love that binds them together.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36708 in DVD
• Brand: PBS
• Released on: 2006-01-17
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 360 minutes

Customer Reviews

Incredible and heartbreaking!
If anyone ever wondered what the farming life is like, this documentary reveals how very difficult it can be to survive on a relatively small farm - in today's modern world of high tech farming. It is a gritty, backbreakingly hard life much of the time, waking up at dawn and falling into bed exhausted when all the chores are finally done and dinner has been eaten.
The couple shown in this documentary hold very little back as their marriage is pushed to the brink by the stress of making ends meet, raise a family and just get by. I first saw it back in 1996 and am delighted to be able to purchase it (finally) on DVD.
But be forewarned- this is not an easy film to watch, although it is an honest one. In unflinching detail, the grim reality of trying to "make it" as a farmer is portrayed. There isn't an ounce of romanticism here, no attempt to portray farm life as an idyllic retreat from city life, especially given the ending of this film.
What DOES come across is the commitment to the land that those on family farms struggle to maintain, doggedly determined to try and hang on to their legacy.
I wonder what happened to the couple in this film and hope the DVD provides some extra detail about that. Even if it does not, the film is worth watching because we should ALL be asking ourselves why small farms are being nearly impossible to find these days. This film answers some of those questions.

Poetic story of real life drama
This is the real 'Real World' documentary. The documentary shows true to life struggles of a young farm family trying to make it through rough times. The first time I watched this was on PBS when I was first married. I just purchased the dvd after something made me remember how much the story touched me. Watching it as a wife with plenty of life/marriage experiences I felt that I viewed the story from a different perspective. It's a great portrayal and I would love to know how the family is doing now, ten years later.

One of the most touching movies you will see
This documentary grips you immediately. Or rather, it is the love story that this filmmaker captured that grips you - a love story between two decent, hard-working people who confront impossible challenges together. It makes you think what hard work and sacrafice really are.

There is a little bit of foul language as they came to grips with certain problems, but I didn't hesitate to show it to our kids (8 and 13) because even the foul language seems like a restrained and dignified reaction to the situations they contend with.

The documentary was shot over the course of three years! This allowed the film maker to capture the true-life highs and lows (extraordinary moments and events) and it teaches subtle but deep lessons in the dignity of hard work and determination, and the value of family and love enduring it all.

It is natural to wonder what happened to these two people after the cameras stopped, and it's disappointing to some extent to hear (according to the PBS website) that their marriage did not last forever. But that after-story does not undermine the power of this realistic and unflinching examination of farming and love. That people and marriages can endure so much for any period of time is an extraordinary tale.

I highly recommend The Farmer's Wife.