[click here to print this entry]
By: Martyn Pedler
Date: 11th Oct 06
Format: Cinema
Mood: Make a therapy appointment now
What:
Fast Food Nation
Where:
Kino Dendy, 45 Collins St, Melbourne
Cinema Nova, 380 Lygon St, Melbourne
When:
In cinemas October 26
Watch the trailer:
here
It’s not out until the end of October, but there’s so much controversy surrounding new film Fast Food Nation that we wanted to get in on the action.
You’ve probably seen the new McDonald’s ad campaign, featuring perky teens driving around Australia investigating the mysteries of fastfood. It’s just like Scooby Doo (if Fred and Daphne were corporate shills instead of ghost-hunters). First there was McLibel, then Supersize Me, and now c’s film Fast Food Nation.
Basing a drama on Eric Schlosser’s non-fiction book about food, politics, and exploitation risks using characters just to parrot exposition, but Linklater and his cast (including Greg Kinnear,Ethan Hawke, and the always-awesome Kris Kristofferson) stick close tonaturalism. While the pacing’s erratic at times, the slow build to thefinal scenes of untrained workers on the ‘killing floor’ is asnerve-wracking as any horror film.
Fast Food Nation might have only preached to the regular choir of indie vegetarians, but now that McDonald’s have pointed out how kaa-razy!!! we are to doubt them, everyone should see the film. Hell, read the book too. And then – to quote the clown – make up your own mind.