Hungry (2015)

Allison Lenare (Jillie Simon) is a school teacher, and when one day her lunch is taken by some of her students, she realizes that many of her students are struggling with hunger. Students in her school are going Hungry, and she knows that she must take a stand. Whether it’s protesting, meeting with local politicians, or risking her job, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make change.

Hungry plays out like a public service announcement that you might see at four o’clock in the morning on PBS. It feels much less like a film and far more like an advertisement in the hopes that the filmmakers can someone encourage change. With the way in which Hungry is set up, it’s sometimes hard to find your way into the film, as you can only feel like a spectator, rather than a participant (which is so important in filmmaking). I don’t want to feel like I'm being talked at, but rather like I’m part of the conversation, and that never happens throughout this film.

With the way in which Writer-Directors J. Simon and Thomas Simon lay out their film, there was an immediate disconnect. I’m not sure that the film ever really establishes a connection with its viewers after the opening moments, and constantly being on the fence in terms of feeling massively disconnected, Hungry struggles from those opening moments. I should have been the target audience. I’m a teacher in a low-income district, one in which my students rely heavily on the school staff to provide meals because they aren’t sure when they will eat next–and, yet, I couldn’t connect.

Hungry feels hyperreal (and that’s a reflection of the acting, lighting, and everything in between), like it exists on the outskirts of reality. Again, it feels like one of those public service announcements that we were sort of forced to watch at kids late at night when we should have been sleeping. And it’s not one of the cool ones like the Magic Bullet, but more like the ones asking us to donate to a church. Hey, do your thing–but don’t expect everyone to be on board with how you're presenting your subject to the world. Hungry doesn’t make me want to help, it just sort of frustrates along the way.

It’s important that I mention the fact that the Simons’ goal here is just and warranted, and I honestly do believe that the topic itself will be enough to warrant some viewers. However, Hungry doesn’t seem like it’s trying to appeal to cinephiles or a movie-watching audience, but rather the humanity in those watching. Again, while there is something of a disconnect in terms of what Hungry is in the film world, its message, and its attempt to reach viewers in the hopes for change will likely find the right audience. I’m not looking at what Hungry can do for starving children, I have to be as objective as possible and express my thoughts on the film’s success as just that, a film. In that regard, it doesn’t deliver–but it has the potential to reach viewers who will, in turn, want to make a change in the world.

Written & Directed by Jillie Simon & Thomas Simon.

Starring Jillie Simon, Bryce Margolis, Mully Mutch, Bettina Bilger, Melissa Murray, etc.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10