I appreciate those who have an analytical perspective on this! That said, from my "normal/civilian" perspective, this documentary is transformational for a person such as myself. I cannot recommend this film any higher!
Plot summary
We Feed People spotlights renowned chef José Andrés and his nonprofit World Central Kitchen’s incredible mission and evolution over 12 years from being a scrappy group of grassroots volunteers to becoming one of the most highly regarded humanitarian aid organizations in the disaster relief sector.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
May 30, 2022 at 06:37 AM
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Watch. Get chills. Reframe your life.
Jose Andres' Unyielding Work with the World Central Kitchen Masterfully Displayed by Ron Howard
Ron Howard's fast-moving documentary about chef Jose Andres's journey from ebullient celebrity chef to global humanitarian is a genuinely inspiring film. Andres' empathetic work with the World Central Kitchen is familiar from brief snippets on the news, but the amount of life-threatening risk and sacrifice would put anyone else's efforts (or lack thereof) to shame. Howard masterfully jumps from one emergency location to the next by exposing the hard reality of Andres' actions often based on decisions that need to be made on the spot and on the chef's unbending spirit in keeping everyone motivated. Howard smartly portrays Andres not as an angelic saint but as the hard-driving leader he needs to be during a crisis.
Cooking and feeding
"We're not only feeding people, we're creating a system," said José Andrés in the opening scene in Ron Howard's new documentary We Feed People.
He is creating a system, indeed. A working one, called World Central Kitchen. He has been cooking and feeding thousands of people, mostly suffering from the aftermath of hurricanes. At one point he Is in the middle of one too, as seen in his Instagram videos.
The foreign title of the film reads "Charity Rescue Mission," which is a bit deceptive, as the description only fits the last half of We Feed People. We start with abrupt and brief footage of him on a mission, but the real mission does not really take place until the 50-minute mark. We know a lot more about Andres first. Howard devoted half of the film to introduce us to him. His background, family, work, and the creation of his foundation are all told using talking head interviews and archive footage. Andres plays a significantly smaller role later on. We don't see him as often. We only see how his remarkable actions affect people.
After the "rescue mission" begins is when the film starts to repeat itself. It constantly praises Andres and remind us of the goal of WCK. It is all good-hearted, though, as we clearly see the impact WCK has on people. The impact it has on us, though, is lacking.