We Feed People

[A] technically polished and emotionally stirring close-up view of celebrity chef José Andrés and his nonprofit World Central Kitchen.

Alternately inspiring and dismaying—why is the large, affable Mr. Andrés filling this global vacuum of governmental response?—the movie is also informative, engaging and reads like an application for the Nobel Peace Prize.

An on-the-scene documentary filled with interviews, action, and archival footage, We Feed People is inspiring to watch and understand how one man can activate so many.

Through We Feed People, Howard shows how impressive and powerful Andrés’ operation is, often covering large areas that need disaster relief. At certain points in We Feed People, even the Red Cross and Salvation Army are asking for help from Andrés in these truly awful times.

In the era of climate change, Howard seems to be saying, Mother Nature may be an unpredictable force, but we have our own flesh-and-blood counterpart: this voluminous, combustible, unstoppable Spaniard named Andrés.

The closing image of We Feed People, Ron Howard’s uplifting documentary about Chef José Andrés and the righteous work he and the non-governmental-organization charity he helped found, World Central Kitchen, is a kicker, one of documentary cinema’s great story-in-a-single-shot punchlines.

It’s refreshing to see an account of a famous food guy who doesn’t wallow in his own character defects.