That Sugar Film

Even though midway claims of evil capital forcing sugar on people is emotional, not aimed at fixing the issue, psychological aspect of addiction depriving people of their potential, makes it the most valuable propaganda to date. Production quality seems rather the matter of time and budget. Silliness while unnecessary is fairly compensated with accessible factual load. Haters pay a lot of attention to calories being equal and thus think this documentary is nonsense but they ignore facts of psychological reaction specific to sugar. Sugar makes people feel love. It's mostly people raised in communities deprived of love altogether - like south USA, aboriginal reservations or undeveloped societies of post-soviet and Asian states. For anyone who still can't get it how to live without added sugar or flour just do what motivational coach said at the end of the film - try to prove it yourself that living without sugar is good for everyone. No need to fear the change - you can always go back to your previous diet but I'm pretty sure you won't have the desire to do so.

Greetings again from the darkness. Ever since Morgan Spurlock provided us with a gut check on the evils of McDonalds with his 2004 documentary Super Size Me, movie goers have shown a real appetite for information on food and nutrition. We have since had informative and entertaining documentaries on wheat, corn, fat, organics and gardening. This latest sweet film comes from Australian director Damon Gameau. He takes the Spurlock approach and personally becomes a lab rat to expose the effects of too much sugar. His mission is 60 days of eating "typical" sugar intake through what would ordinarily be considered "healthy" foods. In other words: no ice cream, candy or soda.

Mr. Gameau introduces himself as a healthy guy who exercises regularly and eats a diet of mostly fruits and vegetables. His girlfriend is 6 months pregnant as he begins this 60 day experiment into the world of sugar. There is a quick history lesson on how sugar became a food staple, and fellow Australian Hugh Jackman explains the pivotal event that occurred in 1955 – a Dwight Eisenhauer heart attack. This spurred debate between US doctors who blamed it on high fat, while the British doctors attributed it to an excess of sugar. The low-fat revolution began, and was actually responsible for the increased amount of sugar in our processed foods. We learn that a full 80% of the standard products on grocery store shelves contain added sugar.

A panel of medical experts provides the necessary tests upfront that set the baseline for blood work, enzyme levels, liver function, weight, etc. The comparison 60 days later is frightening, but it's Gameau's daily journey that provides the real insight and biggest eye-openers. He doesn't spend much time focusing on any particular brands, though Pepsi (Mountain Dew), Coca-Cola and Jamba Juice each takes some serious jabs. Instead we witness his mood swings and lack of motivation for exercise.

British actor Stephen Fry explains the Glucose/Fructose make-up of Sucrose and we are given an overview of how our bodies process this – including a briefing on the role of insulin. As the days go on, we witness Gameau's weight gain and he explains his lethargy and most surprisingly, his mental inconsistencies. He has bouts of cloudiness in a mind that was once clear. It's this and the dramatic change in his liver that delivers the real scare.

It seems clear that all calories are not created equally (a calorie from an apple is not processed the same as a calorie from a Snickers), and that food companies have put much effort into hiding, or at least disguising, the amount of sugars added to the massive amount of processed food consumed each year by the average person. Perhaps Diabetes and Obesity and tooth decay are not thought to be immediate enough threats to cause a shift away from the convenience of processed food. Mr. Gameau shows just how dramatic and severe the changes can be in only 60 days. So imagine 5 years. 25 years. Just how much warning do we need?

So many things are really important which are trivial. This movie is not one of them. It is important. This movie demonstrates our self-destruction through diet. Tax sugar 1000%.

The last time I saw such documentary film was 'Food, Inc.'. In the mean time I have seen documentaries about different topics, but not food. It was a long gap indeed, because then I was in my early twenties and now watching this film made me realise how to look at the food I eat everyday. So believe me, if you are in your late twenties and above, this will inspire you. But for others, like the youngsters and kids, it will be an educational film.

This Australian film looks funny from the outside, but the information it gives can't simply be discarded. I liked the actor, who was the writer, director, producer of the film and the dedication was highly appreciable. Because it was not just go out and make a film, but he himself placed into the centre of the film plot. Initially I thought it was a crazy idea, but at the end I'm stunned. For everything, from what he did and what this film revealed.

When it comes to the food, there are many things to be concerned. But this film was focused on sugar, about the foods we eat, which has a strong sugar presence and how it is affecting our health. Damon Gameau decided to experiment himself by consuming per day, forty teaspoons of sugar and from sugary products that easily available in the market. And monitoring carefully the changes in his body along the way his wife's pregnancy.

"Sugar's not evil, but life's so much better when you get rid of it."

The film is not all about the experiment he's doing, it also gives some details about the people who are suffering big from modern foods. Especially I'm happy for openly giving opinions about the soft drinks from Coke and Pepsi brands. Damon also travelled to the US and he continued what he was doing, alongside collecting some new input from the experts, as well as meeting the victims. The rapid change in his physique and health gives a report on what direction the experiment is heading. From damaging the skin to the putting his internal body organs into various risks of diseases such as liver failure, heart attack and many more.

There's a brief appearance of Hugh Jackman, but don't expect more than that. It had no big impact, because the film's topic was much bigger than his part in the film. The film gave me some idea about how to deal with the food I consume. If you are concerned about your weight, particularly fat tummy, you will know what to do after watching this. I mean this does not guide you through, but opens your eyes. It points out where you are committing your mistake. It does not tell to completely cut off the sugary, but know your limit and behave.

One of the best documentary films. Do whatever you want after watching this, but before that don't think to skip it. You can call it an inspirational, educational or a message deliverer, but this film has committed to highlight what went wrong with the modern day diet. And how the food industry is responding to all the accusations. But you should know what's better for you, so think twice before touching any sugar products. Especially be aware of fructose (who is the villain of this story), which might not equate to nicotine, but the consequences are.

9/10

That Sugar Film is one man's journey into the effect of eating the sugar that is hidden in food marketed as healthy. There is increasingly awareness that we live in the age of sugar with the population of our planet suddenly consuming massively more sugar. There are links between this new diet and obesity and mental illness. Warning bells were sounded in 2009 by childhood obesity expert Prof Robert H. Lustig at the University of California, whose youtube lecture went viral.

Damon Gameau's playful exploration of this crucially important subject is a big wake-up. He packages it in a palatable, family-friendly form, the perfect counter-punch to the food industry's current marketing of sugar. Gameau follows in the footsteps of Morgan Spurlock's gonzo doco, Supersize Me, where Spurlock offered himself as a guinea pig to look at a diet of Maccas. Here, Gameau puts his body on the line to look behind the health claims of fruit juice, flavoured yoghurt, muesli bars, breakfast cereal and more; a diet only of food marketed as healthy and natural but brimming with heaped spoonfuls of unwanted sugar.

Hugh Jackman's sand paintings of the history of sugar is the first of many bite-sized pleasures that make up this rollicking journey of discovery that is guaranteed to disturb your eating habits. With food corporations more in denial than the tobacco industry, tell-tale signs are products marked 'lo-fat' or '100% natural'.

What Gameau reveals about the fructose-laden fare cynically marketed to us at the cost of our health is nothing less than shocking. The film also stirs the pot about obesity, behavioural problems in children, and even rocks the foundations of consumerism. He is the canary in the coalmine and we must give thanks for the warning.

With great songs and great graphics this film is truly sickening, albeit with an upbeat ending. Suitable for all the family, That Sugar Film is compulsory viewing for anyone who has children or anything else to live for. This is THE one film to see … before you die!