Watch the Short Documentary “An Amish Man” (Video)

Amish Girl Watching Worker

Would you like to hear an Amish person explain his faith and lifestyle in his own words?

Amish Man On Bicycle Indiana

In the short film “An Amish Man”, Dennis Hochstetler does just that, discussing family, technology, separation from the world, and other Amish beliefs.

Dennis Hochstetler

He also describes his business and work as owner of Rentown Cabinets.

The 10-minute film was created by Philip Bloom in the Nappanee, Indiana community.

Nappanee Country Road

There are some beautiful shots from around the community, as well as footage from inside Dennis’s shop.

Amish Buggy Passing Subway Restaurant

Some quotes from Dennis:

  • “The Amish lifestyle is a choice. We call it a lifestyle because it’s not a religion.”
  • “If we’re here as a pilgrim traveling through this world for a better land, then the less earthly possessions we cling to the better off we are.”
  • “We have a lot of contact with [the English]. It’s inevitable, we have to have contact with the world…banking, groceries, Wal-Mart, you name it, we go there.”
  • “It’s tough to find a balance, even in our society.”

Watch the video in full:





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24 Comments

  1. Kim

    video "An Amish Man"

    Wow, what a beautiful video! Beautiful images, beautiful music, presented in a relaxed, engaging way….absolutely beautiful. Thanks for posting, Erik!

    1. My pleasure, I thought it was quite well done. It’s apparently been out for awhile but just came across my news feed this morning so voila 🙂

      The filmmaker discusses the background and what it took to make this film here, for anyone that might find that interesting: http://philipbloom.net/2014/05/10/anamishman/

      1. Paula

        video clip problem

        I enjoyed what I saw, but the Amish man video clip froze up after 2:18 minutes. I cleared my cache and reloaded but it happened again. Don’t know if the problem is on your site or in my computer.

        1. SharonR

          It must be your computer; It loaded fine on my laptop and never stopped, after it started. Well worth viewing, if you get it to work.
          sharonr

        2. It shouldn’t be anything to do with my site since it’s hosted elsewhere.

          But if you or anyone else has a problem viewing you can also view it here: http://vimeo.com/78864945

  2. Robert Gschwind

    An Amish Man

    Than is the kind of Amish video that I enjoy.

  3. Mark - Holmes Co.

    Interesting. I thought he did a good job in explaining.

  4. Forest in North Carolina

    It should be required viewing for anyone seeking an intro to the Amish life.

  5. Jamie

    An Amish Man

    Eric, thank you for posting this video. I really appreciate Dennis for sharing a quick synopsis of Amish life! I thought Phillip Bloom did an excellent job producing this short documentary.

    1. I thought so too, the past few years we’ve seen more and more examples of Amish appearing in various media including film, but it’s still not common, which makes this film special.

      The filmmaker Bloom explains that he made a couple of allowances that Dennis Hochstetler requested, in order to make this film:

      “Semi-reluctantly he agreed, on the provision that none of their faces could be seen (due to their beliefs) and he would want to approve it before I put it up online. The former…not ideal. To connect to someone, you do really need to see their faces, their eyes, but I had to respect this. The latter is something I never do for personal docs. For client work of course, every time. I agreed though. I wanted to make this film, as everything about the lifestyle fascinates me…that he had said yes surprised everyone I told where I was staying in Indiana.”

      http://philipbloom.net/2014/05/10/anamishman/

  6. Enjoyed the documentary

    I found the video very interesting. It confirmed my reasons for admiring the life style the Amish have chosen. If the world went in the same direction of simplicity, love of God and family, it would be a far better place.
    Thank you for sharing.

    1. Thanks for commenting June. It’s nice to hear an Amish person expressing Amish beliefs and values in their own words. What I notice is the consistency of some of the things you hear from Amish people when describing their lifestyle. If you speak with Amish people enough about their values and beliefs, you probably recognized hearing the same things from others.

  7. SharonR

    Documentary An Amish Man

    Enjoyed the Video — If only more people could understand the ‘plain’ life, as they do. Thanks for sharing, Erik.
    SharonR

  8. Randi

    An Amish Man

    Such a lovely and informative video. Thank you Dennis and thank you Erik. Truly enjoyed this presentation.

  9. Lifestyle vs Religion

    Super good video; loved it. But it did leave me with one question. If they say Amish is a lifestyle not a religion, then what religion are they a part of? Is there a name for their religion?

    1. Good question. How about just “Christianity”? Obviously I can’t speak for Dennis Hochstetler but I think his point is that some people can put too much importance in the lifestyle, traditions and symbols connected to “being Amish”, but at the heart they are followers of Jesus Christ.

      Maybe Amish Christianity would be another appropriate way to describe it.

    2. Mark - Holmes Co.

      I don’t want to put words in Dennis’s mouth, but I don’t think of my religion as “Amish,” I think of myself as a Christian by faith and an Anabaptist if you want to be more detailed. Living the Amish lifestyle is my personal convictions of applying New Testament teachings to my daily life. It’s not a religion to wear plain clothes for me (and again this is only me writing) but my beliefs about being unconformed and modest.
      Could it be said that asking a let’s say a Methodist what religion he/ she is? They might say Christian, right? Or am I missing something?
      My beard or my buggy isn’t what is going to take me to heaven, and I wonder if that is what he meant by lifestyle or religion.
      Just my thoughts…

  10. RT

    Is it a religion or a lifestyle ?

    If it is not a religion how can one explain being able to not follow government regulations that English must abide too?

    1. Tom A Geist

      I assumed he meant it was not some hard cold lifeless religion but rather a living breathing relationship with God. I could be wrong.
      Tom in Lincoln

  11. Carol
  12. dave

    Great video with overview of Amish introduction, values & work. Understanding of Gods plan and their preference for humility, mutual responsibility, and simplicity is clear.

  13. Slightly-handled-Order-man

    details ......

    I watched this video again when I saw it on social media, I probably watched when AA put it up in February, but I noticed a cute detail.
    I noticed the Disney “Goofy” t-shirt hanging on The Amishman’s workshop wall in one scene. I just thought “cool decoration” this time and then thought “hey wait a minute, that’s Goofy – on a t-shirt!!”
    I am not saying that he can’t have it there, he can hang whatever he likes on his walls, I’m just saying that that is a detail I noticed the second time around.
    I actally had been thinking about Amish lifestyle lately and thought about his quote “it isn’t a religion, its a lifestyle”, but forgot where that came from…and I like how Tom A Geist hazards a guess at Dennis’ meaning in the video…
    Thank you for posting this cool video.

    1. Did not catch that. I like seeing what’s on the walls of businesses and shops. You can often see someone’s sense of humor.

  14. Stephanie

    Dress

    Did anyone else notice that the girls’ dresses had buttons? They must be very progressive.