Past Screening

Marshall Smith, with concurrence of his wife, Tanya, determined the rat race wasn’t worth the effort and decided to leave the craziness of society and live across the land like natives. They chose to settle on a remote mountain top and raise a family, in a way, a very radical alternative to struggling during the depression. Their extraordinary lifestyle took them from 1930 passed World War II. For 17 years the Smith family lived in a pseudo-native fashion. While living in self made adobe, Marshall still held a freelance writing job earning a little money which would go for necessities. Once a month he would take a trip off the mountain to Justin, the nearest town 14 miles away. He would pick up needed stuff and submit his writing.
The documentary tells of the Smith’s challenge of raising three children, of making do with what’s at hand, of the struggle inherent living in a waterless environment; life was tough, but something they chose to do.
Two sides rise up. One states that the self imposed exile into poverty was unnecessary and that Marshall put his family at risk for his own vanity. The other being one of praise for the willingness to be different, to escape from society demands, and be completely independent and self sufficient.
The film offers interviews from two of the three children (the third chose to separate himself from the fame of being a Smith Kid), family, friends, and town residents, all painting a piece of the picture of Marshall Smith. Was he a nutcase? Was he a visionary? You decide. He was a writer, a potter, a painter. He was adept at construction and survival. But was living in the mountains best for raising a family? Again, you decide. The documentary provides a balanced and even handed approach to keeping a family in the California desert.