A misguided American documentary crew working for an edgy media company travels to rural Argentina to profile a local musician, but their ineptitude leads them into the wrong small town. As they collaborate with locals to attempt to fabricate a viral trend, unexpected connections blossom, while a pervasive crisis looms unacknowledged in the background.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.6/10
IMDb: 6.0/10
Letterboxd: 3.34/5
Metacritic: 60
TMDB: 5.8/10
Director
Amalia Ulman
Production
Spacemaker Productions, MUBI, Rei Pictures, Tango Entertainment, Icki Eneo Arlo, Holga's Meow Pictures
Cast
Chloë Sevigny, Alex Wolff, Amalia Ulman, Joe Apollonio, Guillermo Jacubowicz , Camila del Campo, Mateo Vaquer Ruiz de los Llanos, Valeria Lois, Abuela Marita, Simon Rex, Margarita Yolanda Cariaca, Laureana Insua Ochoa, Carlos Omar Aranda, Malvina Alejandra Ocampo, Santino Martinelli, Juan Carlos Barro, Ale Ulman, Roma Simon, Carolina Contreras Salguero, Mirian Andriana Carrizo
Where to watch
MUBI
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, off-kilter satire of media exploitation that stays surprisingly humane. It’s funniest when its clueless crew keeps missing the real story, but the film’s real strength is how it turns that premise into a messy, empathetic look at cultural extraction, performance, and the people left in the margins.
Best for
Viewers who like deadpan indie comedies with social bite
Fans of media-satire and faux-documentary energy
People drawn to awkward character comedy and ensemble dynamics
Audiences interested in Latin American settings and outsider perspective critiques
Skip if
You want a tightly plotted, joke-heavy mainstream comedy
You dislike cringe humor and characters making terrible decisions
You prefer films that treat political or social crises head-on rather than obliquely
You need a very polished, conventional narrative arc
Overview
Magic Farm is a sly, unruly comedy about people who think they’re documenting reality while actively missing it. The setup is simple and very funny: a shallow American media crew lands in the wrong place, then tries to manufacture a trend out of local life. The film keeps exposing their vanity, incompetence, and self-absorption, but it does so with a lightness that makes the satire feel observational rather than smug.
Worth noting
What gives the movie its edge is the way it balances absurdity with genuine warmth. The locals are not just props for the joke; they become the film’s emotional center, and the movie quietly suggests that connection can happen even inside a project built on exploitation. That tension between performance and sincerity is where the film feels most alive.
Bottom line
It’s also a strong showcase for physical comedy and awkward ensemble rhythm, especially in the way embarrassment accumulates scene by scene. The background crisis gives the film a darker undertow, but Magic Farm mostly works by keeping its tone disarmingly playful while letting the critique land on its own. It’s messy in places, but that messiness feels intentional and fitting.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Marisa (4.5★) · 983 likes
A movie about a crew so immersed in their own individual shit that they are oblivious to all the stories around them that would make for a great documentary.
Fun Facts from the Berlinale-Talk: Matteo's tales were his real stories that he told on set and were incorporated into the scenes; Billy Wilder and "El milagro de P. Tinto (The miracle of P. Tinto)" were inspirations for this movie; 95% script and 5% improv particularly between Machi and Jeff - "Only Fans?" was improv!!!
(I am obsessed, this was unique, deep and fun - I am going to follow Amalias work from now on)
Taylord (2★) · 820 likes
Tabi shoes at Da farm
CJ (4★) · 774 likes
Alex Wolff’s physical comedy is top notch. Melting into couches, spread-eagled with despair. On the phone, crouching and curling with anguish. Slouching his way from one faux pas to the next. Just great sad boy energy.
2022 · Action, Adventure, Comedy · 1h 52m · PG-13 · Curator 1.5/10 (530.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Netflix Standard with Ads
A breezy adventure-comedy that plays with outsider assumptions about a foreign setting and the absurdity of media branding.
1982 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 49m · PG · Curator 8.9/10 (521.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A bleakly funny portrait of fame hunger, delusion, and the violence of wanting attention.
Topics
satire, indie comedy, media industry, cringe humor, ensemble cast, Latin American setting, social critique, deadpan, awkward comedy, cultural exploitation