The Shrimp

On its surface, Keith Wilson's THE SHRIMP masquerades as a quirky and entertaining little film about a small part--quite literally--of the food chain. But beneath this facade, THE SHRIMP is a thoughtful, some would say philosophical, story about the complicated ways that people know the natural world that surrounds them through the foods that sustain their bodies and their cultures. The film shows the interconnectedness of all of life's creatures, and in the process suggests the profound impacts our food choices have not only on the lives of other beings but on entire ecosystems. Calling Wilson's film timely is an understatement.

Every circle-of-life story has to start somewhere. Filmmaker Keith Wilson begins this one off the coast of Savannah, GA, where a single shrimp—swimming happily, one assumes—is suddenly caught in a fishing net. A contemplative piece told with images and natural sound, The Shrimp illustrates the life (and death) cycle of a threatened species important to the region's economy and culture, where oil spills and general pollution along the Atlantic seaboard (combined with foreign competition) have adversely affected the shrimp business. After being caught, sorted, and packed in ice, the shrimp goes to a processing facility, where it's washed, deveined, packaged, and refrigerated. Next stop is a restaurant, where it's battered and deep fried, and then served to a lounge singer who interrupts her piano playing to take a bite. Of course, the story doesn't end there. The next stage in the journey—from commode to a water reclamation plant—is tastefully depicted as the camera roams through neighborhoods along the way before ultimately winding up back where it started, in the sea. An artful documentary short that takes a nuanced approach to such topics as sustainability, food systems, ecology, and regional culture, this is recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. (C. Block)