Suzy and the Simple Man

Jon and Suzy Muir are the couple next door. That is, they are the off-the-grid, self-sufficient, dyed-in-the-wool, non-conformist couple next door. In Australia. This simple, touching and engrossing film tracks an eight-year slice of their not-so-next-door lives. In a way, not a lot happens. In another, everything does. The Muir’s story, developed in a slow, rhythmic, no-surprises cadence, is full of surprises. One of the biggest may be how deeply they endear themselves to us without ever softening the focus of the autobiographical lens. A postscript: If you’re prone to garden envy, be prepared for a serious case.