If you don't know the first thing about GMOs heading into Jeremy Seifert's new documentary "GMO OMG" (like, say, what those letters even stand for), don't worry. Seifert didn't know much initially either, which is how he says the movie first evolved -- as a way for the filmmaker and concerned father of three to find out more about genetically modified organisms (a.k.a. GMOs) and how much of our food supply is filled with them.
So, with his wife and kids in tow, Seifert set out to find answers to his questions about how GMOs affect farms, families, and society at large. Traveling from Haiti to Norway and points in between, it's all in service of creating a dialogue about how and what we eat. And like any activist documentary, maybe even changing it too. Here's a few more things to know before heading into Seifert's self-styled GMO primer.
It's a slick, well-made movie
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that documentaries are no more inherently "objective" than their fictional counterparts, especially not one with a clear point to make like "GMO OMG." But it might be a surprise that the film looks as good as it does, mixing beautiful images of farmland and nature with a catchy soundtrack (including a score by Seifert and his wife Jennifer) and slick on-screen graphics; there are no talking heads here. In fact, the film announces its stylistic intentions from the very beginning, opening with a prologue of Wendell Berry reading his poem "The Peace of Wild Things" over a montage of pastoral nature scenes tranquil enough to make even Terrence Malick jealous.
And while many documentaries in recent years have tackled similar issues of what's beneficial for industry overtaking what's beneficial for the public -- just swap out the industry (banking, health care, etc.) -- few have looked quite like this. That's because the movie about the dangers of hybrid seeds is something of a hybrid of its own, a mixture of an activist documentary along the lines of "Food, Inc." or "Fed Up" and a home movie, since Seifert includes his family as a significant part of the story he's telling and frequent narrative device. Instead of explaining the next stop on his trip to the camera, for instance, Seifert films as he relays the same information to his kids, resulting in footage that feels more personal and, fittingly enough, natural.
The stuff with his kids is a little manipulative
Actually, make that a lot. It's not by accident that many of the big scary facts and figures the filmmaker cites in "GMO OMG" play over top of idyllic montages of his three cute kids playing. Same goes for the sensationalist scene of him outfitting his children with gas masks and hazmat suits to go running through a GMO corn field (a segment that's drawn heavy fire from Seifert's critics, and understandably so). In other words, the movie's assault on audience heartstrings isn't exactly subtle. It's a problem that's plagued fellow documentarian Michael Moore over the years too, and judging from a scene where Seifert attempts to march into agro-giant Monsanto's lobby for an impromptu chat, the director's clearly a fan of Moore's seminal "Roger &; Me." Meanwhile, during the movie's many interviews with farmers and anti-GMO advocates, at times you can see Seifert clearly massaging the conversation toward his own ends, almost like he's fine-tuning the outrage levels.
It's an approach sure to rub some the wrong way, especially when Seifert trots out his trump card, a French study about GMOs' potential health risks. To his credit, the filmmaker's up-front about the fact that the study has been loudly questioned by the scientific community, but still, he reasons, doesn't that make the subject worth talking about more, not less? "GMO OMG" is at its best in moments like this, when it doesn't aim to settle the matter once and for all as much as provoke a dialogue, operating as an eye-catching and, yes, sometimes sensationalist call to action for audiences to follow Seifert's lead and start looking into the multifaceted issue for themselves.
It's by no means a definitive take on the subject
Essentially, don't head into "GMO OMG" expecting to come out the other side a seasoned expert; it's more of an overview of the subject with a decidedly populist bent, about informing the public to be more conscious and discerning about what goes into what they eat. The flip side, of course, is that the movie boils a lot of the science down to buzzwords; at one point, Seifert unleashes a cacophony of scientific jargon in an attempt to show how "overwhelming" it all is. Well, sure, but then again, anything would be when presented that way.
But while some have accused Seifert of cherry-picking facts to make his argument, his central point remains: people should have the right to know and, just as importantly, to choose what goes into their bodies. Meanwhile, thanks to its catch-all approach, the film hits on a number of subjects that would be worthy of their own documentary, like the Haitian farmers' revolt against Monsanto's GMO seed donation, or the fittingly apocalyptic "doomsday seed vault" in Norway (attention tourists). If the subject matter interests you, it's worth investigating further than Seifert takes it, but "GMO OMG" is still worthy of a watch as a necessary conversation-starter, provided you take it with a healthy grain of salt. (GMO-free, of course.)
"GMO OMG" opens in limited release on Friday, July 25.
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