Au nom de la terre (2019)

In 1979, in [place unspecified], Pierre Jarjeau returns from Wyoming to reunite with his fiancée, Claire, and take over the family farm. Full of ambition, he buys it from his father on credit. By 1996, Pierre and Claire have two teenage children, the farm has expanded, crop cultivation has become more mechanized, and his father’s sheep operation has been replaced by the more profitable raising of goat kids. But this has also led to mounting debts, and Claire tells Pierre that they are out of cash. To keep them afloat, she agrees to do an attorney’s bookkeeping, in addition to managing much of the farm and handling the housework. But she loves Pierre... To get by, he plans to use the lull in goat-kid farming to diversify into raising chickens. The poultry company he partners with promises him the earth, explains that he won’t recoup the cost of the facilities through a temporary operation, and advises him to think big by building a new, fully automated chicken barn. But that means taking out another large loan, which the bank grants him without difficulty, given that the project is backed by one of its clients. The people around him react with everything from jealousy to doom-laden predictions. Things do not go as planned: the automation fails, and Pierre and Claire become exhausted. His father reproaches him for not listening; father and son are equally stubborn and gruff. The worst is yet to come: the goat barn catches fire before Pierre and his family, who can do nothing but watch. Pierre sinks into depression: he lies motionless, getting up barely long enough to smoke before going back to bed. The little he does on the farm turns out to be dangerous. After a few months, Claire makes up her mind to have him committed, as a doctor advises. She and the children are not even allowed to see him; this is a condition for the treatment to succeed. He does indeed get out, joyfully reuniting with his family and returning to the farm. He seems ready to bounce back. Unfortunately, during the night, he swallows a mixture of toxic farm chemicals, thereby taking his own life... The film’s final shots show Pierre Jarjeau’s grave: 1954–1999. The inscription is then replaced by Christian Bergeon, with the same dates, since the film is inspired by the director’s father’s life. A sign reminds viewers that in France, one farmer dies by suicide every day.