Review of The Beautiful Truth (2008) by The G — 09 May 2010

It's always nice to see a different avenue toward health, although even without this movie I could've guessed that eating only a raw, gluten-free, vegan, organic diet would make anybody healthy and less prone to disease. The trick is not figuring that one out but rather walking the walk. Disgusting crap food like Twinkies and Doritos abound everywhere, and it's really hard to avoid it, especially when you find free food in your break room and you're hungry.

I suppose Kroschel used his son, Garrett, as the focus of the movie because a) he's there, in his house, ready to use for a movie, b) he's pretty innocent, given that he is homeschooled in the middle of nowhere, and c) he can be seen as the "everyteen." Multitudes of people would be willing to relate to this guy who is, like all of us, still trying to figure everything out. Especially teens, who would be a great audience for this movie, as they would be more open minded to alternative medicine... and more fiercely spread the word via facebook, cell phone, twitter, etc than adults. So it all works out. What I did not understand was why the narrator kept his identity hidden until the very end of the movie - and referred to Garrett as "my son" for the first time. Was that supposed to mean something? If so, what?

What this movie mainly did for me was a) make me paranoid and b) make me also feel slightly hopeful that, if I ever run into cancer, I can go running to that little place in Tijuana where they can cram organic vegetables down my throat. The people who have been healed by this diet look pretty damn serious about the fact that they recovered so thoroughly after being labelled hopeless as well as terminal by the modern medical community. What makes me sad is the way, at times, medicine becomes incapacitated in the face of serious diseases... and the way people who are still alive can be given up on and discarded so quickly. But then, I can't speak for what would really happen if every single person with cancer went on the Gerson therapy/diet. Would all of them miraculously recover? Really? Wouldn't word have gotten out about something so fantastic by now - or is it really all covered up or simply ignored as anomaly?

No, I am not going to accept that "western medicine is right and this crazy idea is wrong" as many people would love to whine at me. I am not going to accept that every single doctor out there is trying to hoodwink me, either. I just don't understand why standard medical practice doesn't put every single person who has cancer on this diet, or have a system of easy access to organic foods for these people. Good food certainly doesn't hurt, and paying for vegetables (even organic food) is going to cost a whole lot less than chemotherapy and radiation, that's for sure....

Some parts of this movie were just plain awkward with the way the clips were arranged. I felt like there was some weird secrecy surrounding Garrett about his family that did not need to be there if, indeed, everything was so transparent. I didn't really understand that. I also felt that parts of this movie attempted to stab at something resembling humor, but ended up either trite or uncomfortable. I'm sure Garrett's dad did the best he could with this, but he is no moviemaker. And what exactly happened to Garrett's mom, again?

This was a fascinating movie to watch and I encourage you all out there to eat better. Again, I would too, if I could afford ANYTHING right now. Still, a little motivation here by movies like this is a good thing.