Magic Farm (2025) Dir: Amalia Ulman
- Ridley Coote
- Jul 22
- 2 min read
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One of the best things about paying for a service like Mubi, is that you get introduced to a lot of films you'd otherwise never hear of, let alone see. This odd independent comedy, written and directed by Amalia Ulman, is absolutely one of those films. It looked like a bit of a trippy film, which intrigued me greatly. I do enjoy exploring the more atypical side of cinema, on occasion, and this Mubi original seemed to be another chance to do so.
Ulman certainly went to great lengths to make the film as visually odd as she could manage. She utilised a lot of the classic tricks of the trade, like the fish-eye lense, a high contrast and vibrant colour palette, and various, unusual camera shots, to create what Mubi themselves have called a 'kaleidoscopic' viewing experience. The word is very appropriate. This was a really bizarre film from a visual point of view.
I would say it was a film with interesting characters, more than an interesting story, per-se. That's not to say that the narrative was boring, but I think it was helped a lot by the slightly strange yet very compelling character dynamics playing out. The main arc of the film ended up not mattering so much to me, because the individual character arcs were so much more intriguing.
The film had some pretty good performances from its relatively small cast, with the best of them being provided by Chloë Sevigny and Alex Wolff, who stood out mainly because of the depth of character they were able to display. The film's writer and director; Amalia Ulman, also provided a pretty solid performance in her own role, albeit she was definitely less memorable. I thought Camila del Campo was really quite strong in her supporting role - she was very good at portraying the internal emotions of her character, without over-acting. The only performance I wasn't so keen on was that of Joe Apollonio, who just lacked the nuance and consistency of some of his co-stars.
Overall, I thought this was pretty good for what it was, although I can certainly imagine that it wouldn't be enjoyable for a more casual film audience. Its deliberate oddness may put off some, but I still found it all rather endearing. I wouldn't say it was a film I'd watch more than once, but I don't regret watching it at all. It is very intensely and proudly independent in style, and I think it's always important to watch films that perhaps one wouldn't normally. I liked it, that's my main takeaway.
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