Exploits of a Vegan Wannabe

This week we watched the movie The Witness. It is a documentary that follows the transformation of Brooklyn born Eddie Lama to an impassioned animal advocate.  As the story begins, Eddie is unaffected and uninterested in  animals of any kind…companion or otherwise. He offers to pet sit for the kitten of a beautiful woman he would like to snag a date with. This small self serving act will prove to change his life and the lives of those around him forever. Eddie befriends this kitten as if seeing or experiencing an animal for the very first time. He is bewildered by its capacity for fear, love and trust.  As he begins to open his heart to animals, a revelation unfolds for him and he becomes achingly aware of all the people on the streets of New York wearing fur and fur trim. He does a deeper investigation into what happens to animals destined to become fur and begins a crusade unlike anything the people of New York have ever seen. He was propelled to action and you will be too.

The movie is short (43 minutes) to the point and amazingly effective at sharing its message. Eddie shares this grizzly information about the fur trade in a way that is so matter of fact, it is like he is describing to you how peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are made. Because the movie isn’t overly graphic or overly sensationalistic, you stay in the room, physically and emotionally, with the images and the information about the fur trade that may or may not be new to you.

In that short amount of time he is also able to show the viewer the connection he made between loving companion animals and conversely eating animals, which I feel  is seldom described so honestly and simply. There are no wasted words or emotion. It feels as simple as, “Here is what I found…and I can’t believe it either. Lets work together to stop this.”

Sometimes when I finish watching an animal rights documentary, I feel overwhelmed by the terrifyingly violent information or I think, “This movie is too graphic or over the top to show my aunt or my mom or neighbor about this aspect of compassionate living,” But the Witness is not that kind of movie. It is appropriately graphic, enveloping in its raw human experience and leaves you feeling compelled to do your part. Watch it here for free, rent it or better yet, help fund the mission and purchase the DVD to share with your friends and family on a Mind Expanding Movie Night at home.

Here is a link to the Trailer: The Witness Trailer

Here is a link to watch the movie in its entirety online.

http://www.tribeofheart.org/sr/sr_witscreeningroom_english.htm

Have a delicious weekend.

Tags: a Tribe of Heart Documentary, animal rights film, compassionate products, movie review The Witness, The Witness, The Witness documentary, Tribe of Heart documentary, vegan challenge, vegan experience, vegan movie review, vegan wannabe