Profils paysans: L’approche

Documentary maker Raymond Depardon (1942) himself grew up in the French countryside. In his series Profils paysans he records the farming culture that is under great pressure in this modern era and is largely in danger of disappearing. French districts such as the Cevennes, Lozère, Ardèche and Haute-Loire have for centuries been used for agriculture and animals. The tradition, however, has to move aside for modernism, guided by the European Union. The old farms are converted into luxury mansions and agriculture has been taken over by large, streamlined enterprises. Young, small-scale farmers see their plans scuppered by EU rules and financial obstacles.
Depardon looks at the men and women who persevere in a traditional farming life in spite of this. The film evokes a vague desire for simplicity and pure beauty. But what a city dweller at first regards as a sober and calm rhythm of life turns out in practice to be often fundamental poverty and unavoidable isolation.
The conversations with rural dwellers take place at the kitchen table, juxtaposed with shots of everyday life, with a commentary by Depardon. The beautiful landscapes bring the urban dweller to consider whether the living environment created by humans can ever compete with God-given natural beauty. But one wonders if there’s any way back.