Review: The biggest fear I had with Food Inc is that it appeared to be a clone of Flow: For the Love of Water- a documentary that did nothing more than scare people into avoiding something they vitally need to survive. However, Robert Kenner manages to avoid this fear mongering for the most part to create a solid film. Though it is certainly not perfect, Food Inc manages to develop well enough to pique viewer’s interest to explore the subject beyond the images they catch in the theater. Unfortunately, the main problem with Kenner’s film is viewers’ inability to comprehend the entire subject matter just through this one documentary. It is expertly subdivided into a few coherent sections, but not a single section explores its subject to any great depth. The moments centered on the soy bean scandals in particular are confusing, while others create a schizophrenic picture of the ‘all natural’ food industry (is it a sign of progress? Is it just as corrupted?). The film ends up being so cursory in its ‘all encompassing’ mindset that it leaves the entire audience unsure of almost anything. In all honesty, Kenner should have turned Food Inc into a miniseries with each section granted a full 60-90 minute runtime; this would have easily avoided the shallow analysis that persisted throughout. Though a miniseries is not as sexy as a feature length film, one of the reasons I know Food Inc would have exceeded is because of Kenner’s technical ability. Yes, I would have appreciated more interesting interview spots, but this director knows how to turn animations into a useful and creative tool. He’s also one of the few documentary filmmakers to make the opening credits as entertaining as any Hollywood feature film. The music is also eerily reminiscent of a Philip Glass score (though its unresolved tones may drive some up the wall). To be quite frank, with the level of talent and direction around him, its surprising Kenner didn’t turn Food Inc into a series. He easily had the technical expertise and the intellectual backing to make it happen and to see his story fall flat due to time constraints is an unfortunate finality to this piece. Perhaps Kenner wanted audiences to leave lacking all the important facts, or even a solid understanding of the subject. It is quite possible, he simply wanted people to question, and in their questioning seek out the appropriate answers and ultimately make up their minds based on their own research, not his. Whatever the case, Food Inc happens to create a perfect beginning point for debate and discussion, but it still hurts to think it could have been as informative and detailed as an entertaining Ken Burns film. Review by Matthew Abshire Informative: 2.5- its ‘broad stroke’ mentality leaves far too many gaps Entertainment: 4- quite engaging for a ‘dire situation’ documentary Technical: 4- a tribute to opening credit sequences and cleverly assembled animations Overall: 3- it’s worth noting again that this could have been a great series instead of just a so-so film
 
Format: Theater Year: 2009 Running Time: 94 Min Distributor: Magnolia Pictures Producer: Robert Kenner and Richard Pearce Director: Robert Kenner Date Reviewed: 7-5-2009 Story: Drawing on Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation and Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, director Robert Kenner's documentary explores the food industry's detrimental effects on our health and environment. Kenner spotlights the men and women who are working to reform an industry rife with monopolies, questionable interpretations of laws and subsidies, political ties and rising rates of E. coli outbreaks (NetFlix).