Good Meat

Sam Hurst's documentary follows the odyssey of Beau LeBeau, a 35-year-old Oglala Lakota with significant health problems. A star basketball player in high school, LeBeau now struggles with obesity and the onset of diabetes. LeBeau agrees to be part of an experiment involving vigorous exercise and a traditional Lakota diet of buffalo meat and fresh vegetables. While his body responds positively, LeBeau faces apathy from his friends and some family members; but he maintains a positive attitude, and the promising results of his new regimen—under the guidance of Dr. Kevin Weiland and nutritionist Kibbe Conti—quickly become visible. But even trying to purchase nutritional food at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota is an uphill fight; at one point, LeBeau's sisters drive 90 miles just to buy reasonably priced groceries at a Walmart. Beyond the personal story, Good Meat casts a wider net in showing how poverty and geographical isolation have negatively affected the physical well-being and diet of Native Americans, resulting in abnormally high rates of diabetes and low life expectancy. Good Meat is both enlightening and disturbing, and while LeBeau's eventual slide back into bad habits offers a discouraging postscript, this is recommended, overall. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)