Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers

A documentary on the history of garlic. Les Blank interviews chefs, garlic lovers, and historians about the their love of the 'stinking rose.' The director recommends that, when the film is shown, a toaster oven containing several heads of garlic be turned on in the rear of the theater, unbeknownst to the audience, with the intended result that approximately halfway through the showing the entire theater will be filled with the smell of garlic.

Les Blank is an interesting character. I think his finest work is when he went around America, collecting the sounds of various regions. Much of what he caught on film was groundbreaking, and the natural environments he found may no longer exist. His exploration of garlic is far less important, but interesting in a sort of offbeat way. It's amusing that he even managed to get Werner Herzog to talk about the lack of garlic in "Nosferatu".

Les Blank has a rarity here that might have one of the best titles I've ever heard, or at least the most original. Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers is a 50 minute excursion into the world of those who love, cherish, sing, cook, grow and pick and know a good deal about that most polarizing of seasonings and produce. As someone observes, making a dish that has a plentiful portion of garlic will bring out a reaction, and be it good or bad is what making something worthwhile is all about. In that sense garlic is its own cult, but one that already has a strong base of fans in Europe, slowly growing in America (this is 1980 of course, if these figures have changes in 28 years I can't say). What Les Blank gets on film is compelling and fun because he presents people who are passionate, and his camera probes in extreme, artistic close-ups into the preparations of unusual culinary feats, sometimes involving pigs and chickens, other times with dishes that look close to brains or vomit. Yum!

Like his Burden of Dreams, Blank has a knack at getting into the little things in a subject and making them paramount (where he found interesting insects and things in the making of Fitzcarraldo, here he has a fascinating at times with musical instruments that are played at garlic festivals). Granted, there is an occasional obnoxious voice-over which explains some of the history of garlic, including its origins and how widespread it is in America (2nd only to black pepper). But it's enlightening to see so much of this, like a cooking show that's given a slightly skewed perspective, loaded with folk songs dedicated to garlic, interviewees like Herzog himself, crumbs and specs and things that fall like they're meant as snowflakes through the compositions. It's oddball and and always loving, including a cool finishing touch of how garlic is farmed and packaged. If you love garlic, or just like some of Blank's films, it's worth checking out.

This movie was terrible. It had little useful information about garlic. For the majority of the film, it was just pointless interviews with random garlic-obsessed freaks. I mean, how are you supposed to take a guy seriously when he's wearing a hat shaped like a giant clove of garlic? And the idea of "pet garlic" (a plastic clove of garlic on the end of a stiff leash) proves that some people see very little of life. Not even the editing was done well. I had such a hard time trying to read the names of the interviewees printed on the screen. White text on a white background? If you want information on garlic, read an encyclopedia. If you are a garlic loving lunatic, check out this film.

0.5/4 stars

In my house garlic is its own food group, so this (seemingly early) 51 minute film from 1980 extolling its virtues went down well. The documentary meanders rather organically from one thing to another, visiting chefs preparing dishes, one of the earliest Gilroy Garlic Festivals, and informal interviews of people ranging from kids on a playground to Werner Herzog about garlic. Some of the content is rather dated, but it was certainly ahead of the curve in terms of garlic's broader acceptance, and may have you salivating (hey, we had to pause and make Chloe Coscarelli's garlic bread, which as a side note is the all-time best).

It's hard to fathom that at this time in America, garlic was still emerging, here touted by organic food lovers in California like the legendary Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, and in the middle of the country less used or even looked down upon. (Indeed, recall Potter's derisive comment in It's a Wonderful Life from a generation before about the lowly "garlic-eaters" in the town). This certainly stemmed from the difference between those who immigrated from Northern European countries and those from Asia or the Mediterranean area. How nice that Les Blank celebrated the "stinking rose," allowed people to talk about its health benefits, and showed its use in cooking (even if I could have done without the whole baby pigs being stuffed). Setting that image aside, this is a fun, fanciful way to spend an hour.

Les Blank died recently, and so I decided that I'd watch his documentaries. The first one that I've ever watched is "Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers", which focuses entirely on Allium sativum. Blank interviews people about garlic and looks at its history. There's even a part about garlic's role in Cajun food, complete with a zydeco band! It's hard to believe that the Anglo Puritan types actually suppressed garlic, but's what happened in US history. Fortunately we in the 21st century love the stuff (I sure can't get enough of it). I now hope to see more of Blank's documentaries, and of course I'll never stop eating garlic. It's delicious AND nutritious! And above all, I recommend this documentary.