Not that every movie situated on a farm has to be about struggle, but they do have to illustrate the sudden change in circumstances that comes with being on a farm. In Roger Ebert’s review of the 1984 film Country, he notes the inevitable and cyclical nature of farming and the presence of “good years and bad years.” Movies set on farms also speak about the human connection to the land and to animals. James Cromwell’s role in the 1997 film Babe led him back to vegetarianism because he couldn’t “speak about the movie with conviction” unless he took this stand. All that being said, films set on farms can and should carry powerful messages. Here are the best movies set on a farm, ranked.

9 Field of Dreams

This 1989 film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson follows the story of a farmer, played by Kevin Costner, who constructs a baseball field on his farm that draws the spirits of famous baseball stars. According to 5 Chicago, the film was shot on a real cornfield owned by Don and Becky Lansing, whose family owned the farm for over a century. Field of Dreams draws on the quiet isolation of farming and the potential to hear things you might not hear in urban areas, like a god-like voice that tells you to build a baseball diamond. The setting makes room for this fantasy and was called “grand and brave” by Roger Ebert, a successful “movie about dreams.”

8 Babe

Chris Noonan directed the family classic Babe (which, oddly enough, was produced and co-written by George Miller, the man behind the Mad Max movies) and earned the film Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Director, and many others. The story was adapted from Dick King-Smith’s novel The Sheep-Pig, which follows the life of a pig that wishes to be and behaves like a sheepdog. While Babe is a family film and definitely depicts idyllic and pleasant aspects of farm life, it does not shy away from the reality and emotional difficulty of the world, in which these adorable animals are raised to be exploited and killed.

7 Country

The 1984 film Country looks at the challenges of a farming family in 1980s America. The two leads are played by couple Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard. Film critics Frederic and Mary Ann Bussat of Spirituality and Practice report that the film recognizes the “outlook for small to mid-size farms as bleak” and communicates how the countryside has become “an area of fear and despair,” highlighting the changing in agricultural standards in America throughout the 1980s, as big corporations took over and smaller farms which represented “a care of all things” died out in the face of capitalism’s maximum production.

6 Charlotte’s Web

A 2006 film based on the 1952 book by E.B. White (and the ’70s family film), Charlotte’s Web tells the story of a pig, Wilbur, who is friends with a barn spider, Charlotte. When Charlotte discovers Wilbur might be slaughtered, she writes messages on her webs to attempt to change the humans’ minds.

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The movie maintains a similar tone to Babe, a pleasant, peaceful atmosphere but with an underlying, worrisome reality for the livestock. It’s an ultimately very sad but beautiful film about our animal friends. According to critic Josh Larsen, the “background scenery, especially during the lovely opening credits, has a pencil-sketch impressionism that’s more in line with Garth Williams’ original illustrations.”

5 The River

The River is a 1984 drama that’s similar to Country in that it’s concerned with the relationship between a family and their farm under the threat of both nature and corporate and political forces. The River follows the narrative of an impoverished Tennessee family attempting to keep their farm afloat; they work hard in the face of a massive flood and try to avoid the bank foreclosing on them. For some reason, this Oscar-nominated, visually gorgeous film starring Mel Gibson and Sissy Spacek has been largely lost to time and forgotten by many people, though strongly deserves a reappraisal.

4 The Real Dirt on Farmer John

The 2005 documentary The Real Dirt on Farmer John follows the real life of a unique and eccentric farmer, John Peterson, a big producer at Angelic Organics in Caledonia, Illinois. Over the course of the delightful film, audiences witness John make his farm successful despite a difficult economy and rumors being spread about him. John provides reality’s version of the farmer, a sometimes larger-than-life man who is often more interesting than fictional portrayals of farmers, and a man who was born to take care of the land.

3 The Horse Whisperer

The 1998 film The Horse Whisperer is directed and starred Robert Redford, with a very young Scarlett Johansson performance. Redford also stars in the movie as an excellent horse trainer with an uncanny ability to read horses. He is asked to work with a young girl whose horse and friends were involved in an accident that resulted in two deaths and her limp. He’s tasked with bringing them back to their former confidence while developing feelings for the girl’s mother, played tenderly by Kristin Scott Thomas. The beautiful film has some of the best horse scenery and is as subtle and stunning as the most magnificent mare.

2 At Any Price

This 2012 film is directed and written by the great Ramin Bahrani alongside Hallie Newton. At Any Price follows another farming family, particularly a father and son (played by Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron), who must navigate their own flaws in order to bring their farm to success. Roger Ebert noted in his perfect-score review that At Any Price doesn’t contain “a movie set of a farm, but a working farm, representing a considerable financial investment, hard work, heartbreak, and sweat,” adding to the palpable sense of authenticity here.Related Link: Zac Efron’s Best Movies Since High School Musical, Ranked

1 Places in the Heart

Another 1984 film (the year of the farm, apparently), Places in the Heart is about a widowed young woman facing the Great Depression alone after her husband dies. She is left with her late husband’s farm and is inspired to convert it into a cotton farm with the help of a few friends. The quietly powerful film has a wonderful John Malkovich performance alongside Sally Field’s incredible lead role, which earned her an Oscar. The film also won an Academy Award for its script, which movingly locates the importance of family and friendship.

Films set on farms often have reoccurring themes and sometimes predictable messages. However, the quiet countryside and lovable farm animals, along with what these movies often have to say about nature and family, will always bring comfort to their audiences.