Reviews
Buckwheat and Ralph - A Story About Ralph Hartman
Ralph Hartman was a young boy living down the street from filmmaker Ray Schmitt. Schmitt used to see Ralph driving a tractor along the country road when he was only 5 or 6 years old. When Schmitt moved to Mathias, WV full-time in 1997 he saw Ralph—now twelve years old—getting off a school bus. Schmitt was admiring the horses in the corral, when he heard Ralph call out “do you want to see my horses?” This led to Ray asking Ralph if he could film him over the course of a year tending to his horses and other chores around the farm. Buckwheat and Ralph was filmed over the course of a year and reflects the changing seasons, the tranquility of a mountain valley farm in Hardy County, West Virginia, and the relationship of a young boy with his dog and horses.
