Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa

There is nothing flashy about this documentary, and refreshingly so. Rather, it's about people: young, old, learned, not-so-learned and others. As disparate a group as this may appear to be, it really is made up of like-minded individualists.

Some know why they are there, and others really do not. But they all seem to be there for basically the same reason: freedom, whatever that means to them.

Overall, I found it a good investment of my time, and a story worth telling.

P.S. I would love to have the filmmakers do a follow-up. This, to me, would be of immense educational and human value.

It's mostly the desire to be free ... free from big powerful institutions ... especially government. That's why many of the some four hundred residents live in this isolated spot in New Mexico. But life is hard ... because it's physical. You have to haul in your water, haul out your trash, chop your own firewood. There is no electricity or running water.

The population consists of a hodgepodge of disillusioned military vets, older people looking for peace, teenage runaways, and middle-aged hippies. Children are home schooled. Some food is grown or raised, and some is brought in from free food banks. When you want to take a bath you go to the river five miles away; instead of soap, people wash themselves with mud.

Community problems get resolved by a meeting of elders. The only real law is "be a good neighbor; otherwise, you're not allowed to be here", says one man. Guns are the choice of defense, and residents proudly show them off.

In this one-hour documentary, with fine visuals and reasonably fine sound, the viewer gets treated to an alternate lifestyle, one that most Americans would be physically unfit for, or too emotionally fearful to try. It's to the credit of these modern pioneers that they can survive and presumably be happy.

On the other hand, one could argue that although some may indeed choose to live this way, some may do so out of necessity because they do not have money. Ironically, these rural survivalists are not unlike heavily in-debt urban consumers in that both groups are living for today, giving little or no thought to their lives twenty or thirty years from now.

Still, for those who actually choose to live a rural survivalist life, it's clear that they have literally given up on modern American institutions and pop culture. That they live their dream is commendable. I'm not sure that I could do what they do. But their stories are fascinating and inspiring.

Off the Grid is a heartfelt film about a bunch of bumbles living in New Mexico, in the middle of the desert. The film shows the lives of people we may try to overlook or gossip about:.

"Look at what they are doing!" "They can't do that!" "You can't live there!" "Look at these Dharma Bums!" But what is needed to live freely is defined in different ways; some people want absolute freedom, to live like they want to live, and do what they want to do; these people find life is best lived "Off the Grid". Some people need the solitude only a place off the grid can offer. Some people live off the grid because they enjoy shooting guns. Some find Off the Grid the safest place to protect themselves from their former dangerous lives. Some live off the grid because they fear society will brain wash their kids.

There is danger in living off the grid. Drugs are common here. And the law is the law of the people, vigilante old west style.

But without a full portrait, we are left arrogant. Jeremy and Randy Stulberg do a fine job of presenting these people objectively. The people of the mesa are given a fair space to share their lives.

Many people out there have this urge, a wonder, a desire, to leave society as we know it. To live off the land. To revert back into a way of life that's just more, simple. But then there's a very loud voice telling you that it's not the right choice. And you wouldn't even dare consider voicing this idea to your friends and family. This is where a lot of the people that live on that Mesa in north New Mexico differ from us. They have just, had it.

The walk of life that lives here are a mish mash of mostly sad tales when it comes down to it. The majority of them are people that have simply lost patience and hope for their daily life, war vets, and runaways. And when it comes down to it, this is a perfect idea and spot for them to reside. It's difficult and kind of extreme, but with a mainly peaceful community that abides by good morals and sticking to their guns (literally), it's entirely functional.

The elements, the government and themselves are their own enemies. Young runaways that live on the mesa known as the Nowhere Kids threaten the peace of the community, the government threatens their freedom, and the elements threaten their health. But with such a steadfast and happy community at it's core, they continue to persist with smiles.

Off the Grid delivered an informative, in-depth, emotional peak into the unique way of living that the people on the mesa experience. At it's bare bones it seems like it's "a film about f@ck ups in the desert", and at times seems like it's also the modern wild west. But more than anything it's a fascinating peek into an unknown way of living, fueled by the unique characters involved.