Film has ‘Ingredients’ for Success
Starting Thursday, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art will have a “Green Screen,” featuring films aimed at environmentally responsible practices, starting with a food film called “Ingredients.”
Films like “Supersize Me” (2005) and “Food Inc.” (2008) have drawn attention and created demand for more foodcentric subject matter. “Ingredients” (2009) is a kinder, gentler “Food Inc.”
- “Ingredients”
- 3 Stars
- Thursday in the Oklahoma City Museum of Art at 5:30 p.m.
- Not Rated; 73 minutes
Rather than jab a local, sustainable finger in the corporate chest of giants like Tyson and Monsanto, “Ingredients” concentrates its cameras on the simple beauty of perfectly grown produce and lovingly raised livestock to espouse many of the same themes. If “Food Inc.” is “60 Minutes,” “Ingredients” is “Nova.”
Written and directed by Robert Bates, Bebe Neuwirth (“Cheers,” “Say Anything”) narrates the mosaic of positive reinforcement for the locavore movement. Cinematographer Brian Kimmel artfully trains his lens on farmers, gardeners and chefs committed to the cause.
The narrative begins in spring and follows a year of growing and cooking in various fields and kitchens, concentrating mostly on the Pacific Northwest. Along the way, sage advice and lucid anecdotal propaganda is espoused with virtually no umbrage.
The green-minded are sure to be galvanized by this lyrical love letter to the earth and its yield. Whereas the ire of “Food Inc” might’ve boiled the blood, this movie will likely engender an uncontrollable attraction to farm-to-table restaurants like Ludivine or The Coach House. You might feel a sudden urge to join the Oklahoma Co-Op or Kamala Gamble’s community supported agriculture program at Guilford Gardens. These are all positives.
“Ingredients” doesn’t ignore the effect of industrial farming, but it doesn’t linger. Hopefully the inspiration the film aspires to will hold despite not being fire-branded on our subconscious.
The truth will be told in a few weeks when it’s time to plant those gardens.
Green Screen continues with “Colony” (look for my review in Friday’s Oklahoman), “Cool It,” and “Waste Land.” Click here for showtimes.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by OKC Museum of Art and Dave Cathey. Dave Cathey said: @okcmoa starts Green Screen Thu. w/"Ingredients" It might just send u to @ludivineokc for dinner & a hug. http://tinyurl.com/ingredientable [...]
[...] Nice Dave Cathey review of Ingredients http://blog.newsok.com/fooddude/2011/01/11/film-has-%E2%80%98ingredients-for-success/ [...]
[...] The Oklahoman’s food editor Dave Cathey’s review, 1/11/11 [...]