Nov. 7, 2009
BECK AT THE MOVIES: Scathing Look at Processed Fast Food, Playing a Soccer Dream on Film Festivals Line Up
By Jeff Beck
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Editor's Note: The Fall Marshall Artists Series International Film Festival and the WV Fall Festival begin Friday, Nov. 6. Here are three reviews of films showing at the festivals.
Food, Inc. (2008)
Robert Kenner’s “Food, Inc.” is a scathing look at how food is handled and processed in the United States. Starting with the basics, we are given a basic overview of some of the big problems facing food production, problems that almost no one seems willing to do anything about. Kenner informs us of the most basic ingredient of about 80% of foods: corn. It can be changed and used in just about every product that we eat or use on a daily basis. We are shown footage of crowded chicken houses and other abused animals like pigs and cows as they are shuffled off to slaughter.
There are those, however, who are willing to fight against all of this corporate control, each for their own reason. One farmer interviewed for the film believes in allowing his cows to eat what they were meant to eat: grass. He also believes that factories aren’t really necessary as the work can be done outside. A chicken breeder gives us an inside look at her chicken house, which is packed to the brim, and even has dead chickens lying around. This is exactly the kind of treatment she has gotten tired of inflicting upon the chickens. A mother fights to get the USDA power to shut down plants that produce too much contaminated meat. One of the strangest stories comes from a group of farmers who must contend with a large corporation that owns a patented type of soybean that they use, making it illegal for them to save the seed to use for next planting season.
What this film basically becomes is The Jungle for this generation; a film that explores everything that is wrong with the meat industry and more, just like Sinclair did many years ago. What makes it so effective is the footage that it shows us of the conditions, packed chicken houses, the killing floor of a pig slaughterhouse, and cows standing in their own waste and being prodded by a forklift as they too are led to slaughter. It’s no wonder all of the big corporations investigated by this film (Tyson, Perdue, etc.) declined to be interviewed. It’ll certainly make you think twice before you take that next bite of meat. 3.5/4 stars.
Summer Hours (2008)
Olivier Assayas’s “Summer Hours” begins as siblings gather together in France to celebrate the 75th birthday of their mother, Hélène (Edith Scob). Two of the siblings, Adrienne (Juliette Binoche) and Jérémie (Jérémie Renier), have travelled quite a way to be there. Only one of the siblings, Frédéric (Charles Berling), still lives in France, and it is he who Hélène specifically needs to talk to. Being the only child of hers in France, she discusses what would become of the house and the possessions, many of which belonged to her uncle Paul, a somewhat famous artist. Not long after this conversation, Hélène tragically dies, leaving the three siblings to decide what to do with the property.
This film reminded me a lot of Bernard Tavernier’s “A Sunday in the Country” in the sense that that film is about a painter being visited by his family at a very similar looking estate to the one seen in “Summer Hours.” It also reminded me of Yasujiro Ozu’s “Tokyo Story” in the sense that the now-grown children don’t seem to have much time for their parents nowadays because their lives are so busy. His mother’s possible death is obviously not a subject that Frédéric wants to even think about, let alone discuss, but it is a situation which they are very soon presented with.
The two siblings who don’t live anywhere near the estate don’t seem to care very much about the house or the belongings because they believe they won’t get the chance to be there very much due to their work (One works in China, the other in New York). Meanwhile, Frédéric is having a harder time letting go. He can’t imagine having to sell the house, or some of the artwork that he wants to keep in the family. It becomes a touching film as the three characters must find the best solution as to what should be done with it all. There are great performances all around, especially from Edith Scob, who delivers a quiet, yet moving portrayal of a woman who knows that the end is not far off. In the end, “Summer Hours” alerts us as to how much a single place can mean to three very different generations. 3/4 stars.
Rudo y Cursi (2008)
Carlos Cuarón’s “Rudo y Cursi” tells the story of two brothers from a small village in Mexico. One of them, Beto (Diego Luna), is a devoted soccer fan and dreams of playing professionally as a goalkeeper. The other brother, Tato (Gael García Bernal), dreams of being a singer, but also enjoys playing soccer. One day, Batuta (Guillermo Francella), a talent scout, happens to be in the area when his car breaks down near where Beto and Tato are playing and gets a chance to watch the two of them in action. After setting up a little trial for the two of them, Batuta takes Tato along to join a professional team, but not long after, Beto is also invited. So begins a rags-to-riches tale of two men trying to follow their dreams.
Basically, what we get with this film is nothing that we haven’t already seen before. It follows the rags-to-riches story pretty well, sticking very close to the formula. We’re left with no question as to what is going to happen to these characters by the end of the film due. It would have been nice if they had taken a chance, gone outside of the formula, and tried something new. On the upside, it’s a sports film that doesn’t concentrate too heavily on the sport itself and, instead, concentrates more on the human element of the story. Here is where the film really had a chance to shine, but again, due to the predictable nature of the characters the ending becomes all too predictable from far too early on, though it was pleasant not to have to sit through tons of gameplay as most films of this genre tend to do. It’s well made and performed (especially form Luna and Bernal), just don’t expect any surprises. 2.5/4 stars.
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BECK AT THE MOVIES: Scathing Look at Processed Fast Food, Playing a Soccer Dream on Film Festivals Line Up
By Jeff Beck
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Editor's Note: The Fall Marshall Artists Series International Film Festival and the WV Fall Festival begin Friday, Nov. 6. Here are three reviews of films showing at the festivals.
Food, Inc. (2008)
Robert Kenner’s “Food, Inc.” is a scathing look at how food is handled and processed in the United States. Starting with the basics, we are given a basic overview of some of the big problems facing food production, problems that almost no one seems willing to do anything about. Kenner informs us of the most basic ingredient of about 80% of foods: corn. It can be changed and used in just about every product that we eat or use on a daily basis. We are shown footage of crowded chicken houses and other abused animals like pigs and cows as they are shuffled off to slaughter.
There are those, however, who are willing to fight against all of this corporate control, each for their own reason. One farmer interviewed for the film believes in allowing his cows to eat what they were meant to eat: grass. He also believes that factories aren’t really necessary as the work can be done outside. A chicken breeder gives us an inside look at her chicken house, which is packed to the brim, and even has dead chickens lying around. This is exactly the kind of treatment she has gotten tired of inflicting upon the chickens. A mother fights to get the USDA power to shut down plants that produce too much contaminated meat. One of the strangest stories comes from a group of farmers who must contend with a large corporation that owns a patented type of soybean that they use, making it illegal for them to save the seed to use for next planting season.
What this film basically becomes is The Jungle for this generation; a film that explores everything that is wrong with the meat industry and more, just like Sinclair did many years ago. What makes it so effective is the footage that it shows us of the conditions, packed chicken houses, the killing floor of a pig slaughterhouse, and cows standing in their own waste and being prodded by a forklift as they too are led to slaughter. It’s no wonder all of the big corporations investigated by this film (Tyson, Perdue, etc.) declined to be interviewed. It’ll certainly make you think twice before you take that next bite of meat. 3.5/4 stars.
Summer Hours (2008)
Olivier Assayas’s “Summer Hours” begins as siblings gather together in France to celebrate the 75th birthday of their mother, Hélène (Edith Scob). Two of the siblings, Adrienne (Juliette Binoche) and Jérémie (Jérémie Renier), have travelled quite a way to be there. Only one of the siblings, Frédéric (Charles Berling), still lives in France, and it is he who Hélène specifically needs to talk to. Being the only child of hers in France, she discusses what would become of the house and the possessions, many of which belonged to her uncle Paul, a somewhat famous artist. Not long after this conversation, Hélène tragically dies, leaving the three siblings to decide what to do with the property.
This film reminded me a lot of Bernard Tavernier’s “A Sunday in the Country” in the sense that that film is about a painter being visited by his family at a very similar looking estate to the one seen in “Summer Hours.” It also reminded me of Yasujiro Ozu’s “Tokyo Story” in the sense that the now-grown children don’t seem to have much time for their parents nowadays because their lives are so busy. His mother’s possible death is obviously not a subject that Frédéric wants to even think about, let alone discuss, but it is a situation which they are very soon presented with.
The two siblings who don’t live anywhere near the estate don’t seem to care very much about the house or the belongings because they believe they won’t get the chance to be there very much due to their work (One works in China, the other in New York). Meanwhile, Frédéric is having a harder time letting go. He can’t imagine having to sell the house, or some of the artwork that he wants to keep in the family. It becomes a touching film as the three characters must find the best solution as to what should be done with it all. There are great performances all around, especially from Edith Scob, who delivers a quiet, yet moving portrayal of a woman who knows that the end is not far off. In the end, “Summer Hours” alerts us as to how much a single place can mean to three very different generations. 3/4 stars.
Rudo y Cursi (2008)
Carlos Cuarón’s “Rudo y Cursi” tells the story of two brothers from a small village in Mexico. One of them, Beto (Diego Luna), is a devoted soccer fan and dreams of playing professionally as a goalkeeper. The other brother, Tato (Gael García Bernal), dreams of being a singer, but also enjoys playing soccer. One day, Batuta (Guillermo Francella), a talent scout, happens to be in the area when his car breaks down near where Beto and Tato are playing and gets a chance to watch the two of them in action. After setting up a little trial for the two of them, Batuta takes Tato along to join a professional team, but not long after, Beto is also invited. So begins a rags-to-riches tale of two men trying to follow their dreams.
Basically, what we get with this film is nothing that we haven’t already seen before. It follows the rags-to-riches story pretty well, sticking very close to the formula. We’re left with no question as to what is going to happen to these characters by the end of the film due. It would have been nice if they had taken a chance, gone outside of the formula, and tried something new. On the upside, it’s a sports film that doesn’t concentrate too heavily on the sport itself and, instead, concentrates more on the human element of the story. Here is where the film really had a chance to shine, but again, due to the predictable nature of the characters the ending becomes all too predictable from far too early on, though it was pleasant not to have to sit through tons of gameplay as most films of this genre tend to do. It’s well made and performed (especially form Luna and Bernal), just don’t expect any surprises. 2.5/4 stars.
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