I Finally Saw Forks Over Knives

Yesterday hubby and I finally got to see Forks Over Knives after what seemed to be ages of waiting for it to hit a local theater. It opened this weekend at the Crest Theatre, a beautifully restored theater that’s about 100 years old with a rich history. This is the first time we’ve been to it, but it won’t be the last because there’s already two more movies I want to see at it – Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop and Buck. I wish more movies like these were more widely released, movies that treat viewers with intelligence and give something more valuable and meaningful to take away, like knowledge and inspiration. Oh well, I’ll stop ranting. Big summer blockbusters with pricey effects have a special place in my heart too.

I just had to stop and marvel at all the gorgeous architecture inside, like this funky, huge, mirrored vanity room in the ladies room.

And the sunken bar/historical museum.

The old time snack bar with bright neon detailing.

And a pretty spectacular chandelier in the front entry.

Our theater was even partially underground with gorgeously restored lighting fixtures. But enough about the theater and more about the movie!

Forks Over Knives is a well done documentary based on the research of Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn and Dr. T. Colin Campbell that a whole foods, plant-based diet can reverse and prevent many of the common killer diseases today. Such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. The movie opens with a montage of news clips on the rising rates of childhood obesity, diabetes, and a shocking clip that the current generation will live less than their parents. Then it introduces us to the doctors and their history, each growing up on dairy farms interestingly enough, and moving on to become doctors. From there the documentary is an intense ride of graphical data of the doctor’s research findings, graphic footage of heart bypass surgeries, statements from doctors and health officials, and individual inspirational stories of conquering disease. Like Evelyn Oswick, who became part of Dr. Esselstyn’s research study after two heart attacks and doctors declaring her untreatable and telling her to go home and wait to die. Over 22 years later on a plant-based diet, she’s looking pretty good.

And Ruth Heidrich,  who was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer and ordered by doctors to stop running and start chemo. She kept running marathons and went vegan and still running 25 years later.

And Mac Danzig, a vegan UFC fighter.

The data that surprised me the most from the movie was the correlation between dairy consumption and cancer cell growth.

And some amazing research on being able to turn cancer cells on or off through diet. For a long documentary, it did not strike me as dry or boring, but the shakey film quality was a bit irritating at times. It shifted back and forth on time lines, research studies, and individual stories a bit. It also documented points from pro animal protein sides giving them a say without belittling them giving it a more non-biased tone. I appreciated the reoccurring point of getting patients off medication, that many medications aren’t needed with the proper diet and lifestyle. It also included a lot of funky 50s era nutritional commercials recommending milk consumption and old nutritional models displaying how far we’ve come since.

This movie was so well done with so much important information with the potential to end a lot of misery. But, in such limited release, it’s not easy to see in theaters. However, it will be released on DVD August 30th, 2011. See it. And more importantly, get people you care about to see it.