Actors: Jeff
Bridges
Format: AC-3, Blu-ray, Closed-captioned, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled,
Widescreen
Language: English
Subtitles: Spanish
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: PG (Parental Guidance
Suggested)
Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Release Date: June 25, 2013
Run Time: 84 minutes
If you have ever
shopped at Food For Less or any of the other discount grocery stores and
wondered why all of the unhealthiest foods are also the cheapest, this
documentary will provide the answers. A
Place at the Table gives a precise amount of information in explaining why America
has so many people without food, despite being a country with plenty of it. This
doesn’t sound like light entertainment, but the human element makes this an
engaging documentary.
There is a major difference between
hunger in third world countries and the poverty experienced in America,
because some of the most impoverished are also becoming some of the most obese.
This is due to the type of food which is made affordable, mostly due to the
government’s choice to subsidize larger farms providing crops that will lead to
processed food rather than fresh.
As well as the bigger political
picture behind our country’s hunger issues, there are also more intimate human
stories within the narrative. We are brought into the seemingly average and
ordinary homes of families struggling to put food on the table each week, often
utilizing the help and charity of local organizations or government just to
survive. In one of the more harrowing sequences, a single mother realizes that
she is no better off financially once finding a job and losing the government
aid. The loss of one is not overpowered by the gain of the other, and she finds
that the stress of existing week to week is never-ending.
Documentaries have become a great
podium for a call to change, allowing the voice of the public to be heard as
well as providing information to those who are unaware. Unfortunately, there
are so many of these agenda-based documentaries in existence that it is hard to
believe much difference will come from one film. All cynicism aside, A Place at the Table provides a concise
and entertaining presentation of some very real problems in the United States.
The Blu-ray release includes deleted
scenes and interviews, as well as a commentary track with directors Lori
Silverbush and Kristi Jacobson, as well as producer Tom Colicchio. There are
also some cast and crew interviews and a few additional featurettes about
organizations attempting to help the problem.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7/10
Historical
Significance: 5/10
Disc Features: 7.5/10
