牛三鞭的儿子牛大胆跟老驴子的女儿灯儿相好，老驴子并不同意这门婚事。驴子提出再和牛三鞭比一次武，如果牛三鞭能赢，就再没有任何条件地成全儿女的婚事。另一方面，马大胆的儿子马仁礼在北平图书馆工作，因为闯了祸带着自己唱戏的未婚妻乔月从北平赶回家来要成亲，并且将中国马上要变天，每一个解放区都会闹“土改”的消息来回了家中，并劝父亲在土地的问题上还是早做决断不要被牵连进去。

历经百年的动乱，古老深沉而又多灾多难的中华大地总算迎来了和平的曙光。位于山东黄河边上的麦香村，伴随着家国的脉搏发生一连串的大事小情。穷苦农民出身的牛大胆（陈宝国 饰）和灯儿（牛莉 饰）相知相恋，但两家父辈仇上加仇，让他们始终无法走到一起。土改风潮遽然而至，地主出身的马仁礼（冯远征 饰）则一夜之间从阔少爷变成了人人喊打的过街老鼠，曾与之有婚约的女人乔月则见风使舵，踏上了革命的一只脚。农村变了新天地，牛大胆敢作敢当，为了守住好不容易得来的土地使出浑身干劲儿，不仅敢于顶撞各种权贵，甚至不惜挑战稍不留神就会掉脑袋的土地政策。 　　风起云涌的时代，牛大胆、马仁礼、灯儿、乔月以及千千万万的普通农民，各自谱写着属于自己的历史……

Omelia Contadina was born out of the concern of JR and film director Alice Rohrwacher for the difficulties encountered by many small farmers and inhabitants of the Alfina plateau, in Italy. 　　Alice Rohrwacher explains the origins of the project: “Last autumn, during a walk on the border between Umbria, Lazio and Tuscany, I told my friend and artist JR of my concerns about the destruction of the agricultural landscape, violated by the intensive monocultures with which major corporations are shaping entire territories. I told him, as the daughter of a beekeeper, of the mass death of insects that such changes bring about, and of the struggles of small farmers as they try to stem the tide of speculations, subsidies and pesticides. At one point, we stopped at a crossroads: on all sides, uninterrupted rows of hazelnut trees filled the landscape as far as the horizon. As we looked upon this, we commented to each other that it looked like a war cemetery. On the way back we decided that since it looked like a cemetery, we had to hold a funeral. But it had to be a funeral full of life, like a hymn of hope dedicated to all those who keep us alive day after day, producing the food we eat. ». 　　Alice Rohrwacher and JR returned to the region in early November 2019 to implement their project. The portraits taken by JR of 2 women and 2 men farmers, standard-bearers of traditional agriculture, were printed on large tarpaulins, which the farmers of the Alfina plateau, as well as the inhabitants of the villages of Castel Giorgio and Onano, carried in a filmed procession to the sound of a traditional local brass band. The portraits were then placed in tombs dug in the fields belonging to the farmers. Eulogies were given and the graves were filled in, marking the end of both the film and the symbolic burial. 　　The short film Omelia Contadina, co-directed with Alice Rohrwacher, premiered at the 77th Venice Film Festival (2020). 　　The project is the subject of an exhibition at Galleria Continua, in San Gimignano, from September 26, 2020 to May 2, 2021.

Omelia Contadina was born out of the concern of JR and film director Alice Rohrwacher for the difficulties encountered by many small farmers and inhabitants of the Alfina plateau, in Italy. 　　Alice Rohrwacher explains the origins of the project: “Last autumn, during a walk on the border between Umbria, Lazio and Tuscany, I told my friend and artist JR of my concerns about the destruction of the agricultural landscape, violated by the intensive monocultures with which major corporations are shaping entire territories. I told him, as the daughter of a beekeeper, of the mass death of insects that such changes bring about, and of the struggles of small farmers as they try to stem the tide of speculations, subsidies and pesticides. At one point, we stopped at a crossroads: on all sides, uninterrupted rows of hazelnut trees filled the landscape as far as the horizon. As we looked upon this, we commented to each other that it looked like a war cemetery. On the way back we decided that since it looked like a cemetery, we had to hold a funeral. But it had to be a funeral full of life, like a hymn of hope dedicated to all those who keep us alive day after day, producing the food we eat. ». 　　Alice Rohrwacher and JR returned to the region in early November 2019 to implement their project. The portraits taken by JR of 2 women and 2 men farmers, standard-bearers of traditional agriculture, were printed on large tarpaulins, which the farmers of the Alfina plateau, as well as the inhabitants of the villages of Castel Giorgio and Onano, carried in a filmed procession to the sound of a traditional local brass band. The portraits were then placed in tombs dug in the fields belonging to the farmers. Eulogies were given and the graves were filled in, marking the end of both the film and the symbolic burial. 　　The short film Omelia Contadina, co-directed with Alice Rohrwacher, premiered at the 77th Venice Film Festival (2020). 　　The project is the subject of an exhibition at Galleria Continua, in San Gimignano, from September 26, 2020 to May 2, 2021.

"Veteran experimental filmmakers Danielle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub helmed this unusual adaptation of a novel by Elio Vittorini. Focused on the triumphs and failures of a group of laborers and farm hands who pooled their resources to operate an alternative collective farm after the end of World War II, Operai, Contadini features a cast of 12 actors who read aloud from Vittorini's book for the duration of the film, either reciting from memory or using a clearly visible script. Hardly designed to be a crowd pleaser, Operai, Contadini proved to be controversial among the audiences for its showings at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight series." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide 　　"The group makes up a primitive community which seeks to erase not only the distress created by the war but also the hardships of life and hunger, and to protect them from violence, misery and fear. Amid the ruins of this post-war period, the characters build and invent a rapport both in their professional and daily lives between themselves, the sexes, generations, diverse social and geographical origins, and antagonistic political camps. 　　The group maintains a 'register', a kind of diary, as if it were entering the minutes of an inquiry or a trial." -Steve Grayson 　　"my favorite Straub-Huillet films are Too Early, Too Late and Operai, contadini (2001), both color landscape films with especially acute senses of place as well as of nature in all its harsh beauty." - Jonathan Rosenbaum

本剧是以山东龙大集团为生活原型，而创作摄制的。反映农民企业家的创业生活。 　　主题曲：你的尊严 　　演唱：范琳琳 　　作曲：孟庆云

本剧是以山东龙大集团为生活原型，而创作摄制的。反映农民企业家的创业生活。 　　主题曲：你的尊严 　　演唱：范琳琳 　　作曲：孟庆云

"Veteran experimental filmmakers Danielle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub helmed this unusual adaptation of a novel by Elio Vittorini. Focused on the triumphs and failures of a group of laborers and farm hands who pooled their resources to operate an alternative collective farm after the end of World War II, Operai, Contadini features a cast of 12 actors who read aloud from Vittorini's book for the duration of the film, either reciting from memory or using a clearly visible script. Hardly designed to be a crowd pleaser, Operai, Contadini proved to be controversial among the audiences for its showings at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight series." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide 　　"The group makes up a primitive community which seeks to erase not only the distress created by the war but also the hardships of life and hunger, and to protect them from violence, misery and fear. Amid the ruins of this post-war period, the characters build and invent a rapport both in their professional and daily lives between themselves, the sexes, generations, diverse social and geographical origins, and antagonistic political camps. 　　The group maintains a 'register', a kind of diary, as if it were entering the minutes of an inquiry or a trial." -Steve Grayson 　　"my favorite Straub-Huillet films are Too Early, Too Late and Operai, contadini (2001), both color landscape films with especially acute senses of place as well as of nature in all its harsh beauty." - Jonathan Rosenbaum

田厚德曾担任过村党支书，生性耿直，深爱土地，为保护良田，代表村民多次向县、市纪委反映乡镇领导刘乾坤非法侵占集体大量土地、以权谋私、贪污腐化的问题，因而种下了祸根。八十年代初，田厚德一家承包了九亩责任田，由于当时的农资化肥不断涨价，而粮价又不断下跌，种田的日子并不富裕，加之女儿田英出嫁，又添上了新债。田厚德的三个儿子纷纷不满现状，认为种地穷不划算，要求独立门户，各找出路。最后，田厚德这个大家庭，分成了三个小家庭。三个小家庭各自的命运坎坷，接二连三的遭到打击，田厚德已经意识到种种祸害的根源。一年又一年过去了，但他仍然坚持举报腐败分子。后来，终于揪出了副县长刘乾坤等一批腐败分子！随着这批犯罪分子的一一伏法！田三也走出了监狱的大门。田厚德靠对土地的热爱，守住了农民的根。