Starting off earlier in the food chain than Morgan Spurlock's critical Super Size Me, Aaron Woolf's documentary King Corn examines America's health woes through the multifaceted lens of one humble grain, offering irrefutable proof that the United States is practically swimming in the stuff. Corn meal, corn starch, hydrologized corn protein, and high fructose corn syrup fuel a myriad of products, from soft drinks to hamburgers (the starchy vegetable is easily grown, and government subsidies insure relentless production). Woolf documents an 11-month project undertaken by college friends Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis (the director's cousin), who both happen to trace their ancestry to the same small Iowa town of Greene, where they plan to raise their own corn crop. After finding a farmer willing to lease them some land (and filling out reams of paperwork for government subsidies), the pair meet with agronomists, historians, nutritionists, and others before plowing, planting, and maintaining an acre of corn. Prior to harvesting, the easygoing Yale grads travel to Colorado to compare the grass-fed cattle of yore with today's corn-fed counterparts, then to New York to explore the links between corn syrup, obesity, and diabetes. With a little help from author Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma), the WoWz's whimsical music score, and some clever stop-motion animation, Woolf's King Corn brings biochemistry to vivid life. On a surface level, this genial eye-opener celebrates friendship and farming, but on a deeper plane the film laments government largesse and genetic modifications that have turned a protein-filled product into today's fatty "yellow dent no. 2." Highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include deleted scenes, the featurettes “The King Corn in the Corn Belt Tour” and "The Lost Basement Lectures" (an amusing fake instructional film about the aims of agriculture), a WoWz music video, a photo gallery, and filmmaker bios. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a winning documentary.] (K. Fennessy)
King Corn
Docurama, 90 min., not rated, DVD: $26.95, Apr. 29 Volume 23, Issue 4
King Corn
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