Fasting (2017) User Reviews

Too many personal anecdotes, and poorly constructed

[spewy29167 · 5/10 · 28 June 2018]

Lots of people running on beaches like a sanitary towel commercial, meandering, chatting about random medical health numbers, personal ancedotes and 2nd hand anecdotes, drone shots, random yoga 'how this worked for me - miracle' 'my hob-o-diba-doblin is down from 300 to 25'. (I made that last bit up).

This film really does little to push forward the science of fasting - all that is being said is a similar thing some of the recent vegan documentaries are saying. Like the makers just watched 'What the Health' and decided to put out a fasting version.

There is a lot to fasting, as there is to plant based diets. Essentially you are eating less and eating better quality foods- cutting out the terrible junk processed food. What is the difference in effect to a plant based diet? What different types of fasting are there? Fast Mimicking? Water fasting? Fruit fasting? Intermittent fasting? How long for? Hours? Days? Weeks? What are the dangers of each one? Do you need medical supervision? Which could be done safely on your own? And for whom? That could have been covered in much more detail, they have an interview Dr Valter Longo, an expert who could shed real insight but he needed more screen time. Like the makers left out the hard bits that might confuse the intellectually weak in the audience or not get sued - fasting is great, but don't do it as it couldbe dangerous for some people.

I think this documentary could be re-edited, and actually be much better. An opportunity missed.

Great info, but delivery was meh

[misspudding · 6/10 · 3 September 2018]

I thought a lot of the content was great, but it could have been an hour shorter. The anecdotes dragged on and on. And the sound quality sucked...

But the actual information in the film was pretty great. It's inspired me to try intermittent fasting.

A commercial in the guise of a documentary

[chocinco · 5/10 · 13 July 2019]

While I'm quite familiar with the works of Drs. Longo and Panda -- very legit and well-respected scientists -- the journalism involved in this documentary was far from balanced.

Good topic, bad coverage, confusing and irrelevant information

[gwenhaven-87190 · 1/10 · 8 May 2018]

First, I was hoping to find something that spoke more clearly about the science of fasting. Instead you get a few testimonials from doctors who had some of their patients turn their health around, and a lot of time is spent on that. Autophagy isn't even mentioned until nearly the end. I also was totally thrown by the section about the Donner Party, which seems completely out of place. I skipped half of it as it was repulsing me and not why I was watching a documentary about fasting. There are not seven methods discussed, it is more anecdotes about different people who used fasting in different ways. The information feels incomplete, and scattered. This documentary is awful.

Great subject, Terrible movie

[admin-802 · 1/10 · 14 February 2018]

Fasting for healing is a great subject to tackle, it's too bad it was done so poorly in this documentary. The editing is extermely confusing, especially in the beginning, the message is often unclear (they talk about how fasting is dangerous for those with eating disorder but then a guy with an eating disorder says how much it helped him?). There are many people walking in slow motion for some reason, doing things that are not really related to the movie or what is being talked about. The main issue of this movie is simply bad editing. I was barly able to finish it and I only did because the topic is interesting to me.

Instead of using medicine, rather fast a day. - Plutarch.

[Fella_shibby · 10/10 · 12 September 2018]

As a gym instructor and nutritionist, i totally endorse fasting under supervision. There is a thin line between fasting and starvation. Starvation leads to atrophy n wasting but fasting has been shown to induce autophagy, a process by which cells "clean up" cellular "garbage". Autophagy protects cells from excessive oxidative stress. Autophagy prevents cancerous growths, metabolic dysfunctions like obesity and diabetes. The three ways to Autophagy is fasting, low carb and exercise. Regarding the film, there was no need to show the Donner party. Starvation leads to low potassium thereby causing psychosis, whereas fasting prevents dementia. In fact, more emphasis shud have been on autophagy. More talks shud have been on the difference between starvation n fasting. Also important is that after fasting n weight loss regime one shud never forget to excrete the toxins with the use of high fiber foods.

Oh. The confusion was total. Do not watch!

[daniel-45574 · 1/10 · 18 April 2018]

Looking for a good movie about fasting? Do not watch/pay for this one.

All in all it is just a mess of bad moviemaking mixed with a strange back and forth message about fasting. it surprises me that they got Walter and Jason onboard this project at all.

And what also truck me is the long sweeping bodyshoots that where alsmost he whole time.

Wanna know about fasting in detail? Search for Jason Fung on Youtube and watch the longer talks. There you will really learn a thing or two.

Probably the most unbiased information on Fasting yet. Two thumbs UP!

[DarkAngeloX · 8/10 · 27 July 2018]

The information was presented in a way to give the viewer dual sides of the story, without taking sides. I love the way the true stories of real people were juxtaposed against the scientific pros and cons of fasting. The filmmakers chose to present this information in a different way -- much better than a "fly on the wall" perspective. I prefer this over just running around with a camera filming folks. Viewers have a chance to hear actual issues, remedies, results and problems.

I didn't find the information confusing at all. In fact, I stopped halfway through and came back 1 hour later and picked right up where I left off. Also, the film is not a plug or advertisement for any fasting product or service. They quiet often remark how fasting is the the most free form of weightloss you can ever attempt.

After watching this documentary i immediately started my own fast. I lost 8 pounds (3.63 kilos) my first week.

Confusing

[sanateam · 2/10 · 8 February 2020]

Some of the "patient" contributors were a little out there like the lady on the documentary cover. So if you have an out there person their results or experience will also be Out there. These decisions need research, comparison & Logic :(

Documentary or Infomercial

[dramafreebri · 1/10 · 4 April 2021]

This was a 2-hour infomercial. It felt like it would be something I would see on TV at 2am in between the Beachbody commercials.

Terrible Documentary

[jilleencharette · 1/10 · 3 April 2019]

The only reason I can imagine someone rating this greater than one star would be mistaking this documentary for the "The Science of Fasting". It's actually rather surprising that Dr. Fung provided commentary, although his portion was well put together and relevant. After the first portion, it becomes completely anectdotal and irrelevant... comparing intermittent fasting with the Donner Party? Was that for real? There are so many great resources out there regarding fasting, Dr. Fung's book, The Complete Guide to Fasting, being one of them. This documentary throws out tons of misinformation and felt like an infomercial for various products and "youtube channels".

Unbelievably TRUE and a must for weight loss and health

[jessjchavez · 10/10 · 26 October 2018]

Big Pharma nd Big food will hate this movie, its a must watch, life changing.

More like a youtube mashup

[gd432 · 1/10 · 14 June 2019]

This is no documentary but a bombardment of random and excessive information about the great benefits people have achieved through fasting.

There is no plot, no smooth delivery, no time for you to take in so much information that it causes nausea and headache after 10 minutes of watching.

Great topic and people should really learn about fasting which is probably one the healthiest thing you can do in your life yet this documentary is not the way. Deeply disappointing.

Great Information

[gjonisee · 10/10 · 14 April 2019]

In a society with an insane obsession with food and the ill effects of it Medicine - with its ills, we are shown there is a way to heal naturally. We are not meant to eat long periods throughout the day. That's contrary to our biological rhythms and therefore HEALTH.

Great topic, terrible movie

[mpgreenef · 1/10 · 15 September 2018]

I actually bought this one the same week it was released and man it really wasn't worth it. Fasting is a really interesting topic, with a lot yet to tell about, and the movie was boring and dull and repetitive anyway. I didn't even finish it.

If You Are Going to Watch this while Fasting, At Least Take It with a Few Grains of Salt

[leftbanker-1 · 5/10 · 8 January 2022]

An interesting topic with a lousy execution. There were too many head cases and weirdos in this for me to take it seriously, from pukey-anorexic girl, to muscle-OCD-put a shirt on-boy, to the Jesus freaks. Just the facts, ma'am.

The woman with the headaches had a good story.

I was expecting to see Dr. Nick Riviera from The Simpsons give his take on the subject. They tried to cover too much territory in this to be clear and accurate.

Infomercial

[ritagerard · 1/10 · 2 September 2018]

This is an infomercial for something called the Prolon diet

Great Documentary

[kinnettkevin · 10/10 · 23 August 2018]

Well written and worth the watch. Your body is a healer in itself. Learn to listen to your body, this documentary shows and points out issues that make sense to a person. Well done. I am starting my fasting now. When your body loses energy and food, it starts to discard the cells that are not producing, the defective cells will be the first disposed of.

experiment

[kaefab · 1/10 · 4 July 2018]

You don't need a stupid movie to show you how to fast its free, i do amazing fasting around 16-18h per day sometimes go 24h and back to normal, i do terrible pass the 30h mark you just don't need to go there.

Fasting does great for the sweet tooth, sugar craving, shrink the stomach eat less, etc, combined with exercise and cardio.

Must see for anyone contemplating fasting

[Iluvcleanfunnymovies · 8/10 · 10 March 2019]

I am surprised at all of the negative reviews. This is a documentary, it is not an infomercial. While it is long, 1:45 minutes, they go through the gamut of all the benefits of fasting, how it can reverse disease process and stimulate stem cell growth, to ALL of the risks involved and how it can seriously damage you if done improperly. I watched this with the intent of getting invigorated to start my own fast. While I am still contemplating and strategizing, I am much more cautious. The part of the documentary that explains the risks, brings up a sobering reality that needs to be brought to light. And maybe that is why so many people dislike the movie? That dose of reality is too much for some people.

There has to be better documentaries on fasting...

[mnmgem · 5/10 · 28 January 2021]

The beginning had my hopes up, but after thirty minutes, my husband fell asleep and for the rest of the movie, I kept debating if I was watching an infomercial or a legit documentary. There are some inspiring stories but less science than I would have liked. Usually stories make documentaries more powerful. Not in this case.

One of the worst documentaries ever made

[stsorrell · 1/10 · 30 May 2022]

Right from the beginning, the editing was so bad it clouded the message. And it never got better.

The film is nothing but real life testimonials with very little science to back it up. It was quite disappointing.

And then comes the short segment about the Donner Party. WTH?? Why was that included???

Don't waste your time watching this one. It's terrible.

Convoluted and Aimless

[aydinhartt · 1/10 · 20 April 2022]

This documentary is poorly made, its convoluted and aimless, the entire documentary is stories of people who suffered health issues before fasting. You'll watch an hour to be told to not eat after 6pm and wait 12 hours before eating.

"I can think. I can wait. I can fast."

[zkotpen · 8/10 · 10 June 2019]

"Fasting" has been an inspirational movie for me, especially when considered along with my other practices in life. The film takes an excellent perspective, looks at the benefits and risks of fasting from most or all angles, and helps with deciding whether or not one should fast, and if so, it brings up several alternatives and caveats to consider.

"Fasting" is not designed to be a research document; rather, it is designed to be informative, and also allows different people in different circumstances, from different backgrounds to simply share their experiences and some of their knowledge.

Personally, I came to the movie by way of other intuitive practices: It appeared at just the right time in my life, and a new facebook friend who shares my intuitive practice told me a little about their approach to intuition, which included intermittent fasting as part of a spiritual regimen. Simultaneously receiving these two signals from the universe caused me to watch the film as soon as I was able, while simultaneously kicking off my own short term fast, which should last about 1-3 days, depending on what my intuition tells me.

I have used intermittent fasting, albeit at irregular time intervals, in the past for these same intuitive reasons, and felt great benefit, but I had not done so in several years.

I have also done time restricted feeding: I haven't eaten dinner since 2013, but for health reasons: I get massive heartburn if I eat solid food after about 4 p.m., and that usually occurs during sleep, sometimes getting so bad that I would wake up in the middle of the night not breathing, on the verge of drowning in my own vomit.

I brought my own personal experience to "Fasting", and the movie was done well enough to help improve my life right now. Sure, there were some things I didn't like in the movie, but they have nothing to do with the quality of the movie itself -- these things were perfectly relevant and on-point, regardless of my own personal preferences.

Normally, I would give "Fasting" 10/10, but I had to take off two stars for the following reasons:

1. Sound editing. Most or all speakers spoke way too fast. I had to watch the movie at 90% speed, and that was still too fast. By the end, I even lowered playback speed to 80%, which sounded about right for speed, but pitch and the musical score were affected. I consider this speedy talking to be the single major flaw of "Fasting".

2. It's a bit too North-America-centric. Hence the title of my review, a quote from Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, which also helped me decide to fast these next few days. Of course the doctors in the different clinics can and should use the language as they did in "Fasting", but the people sharing their personal experiences were a bit too clinical-sounding at times. There's nothing wrong with that, but how about fasting for people who don't think and express themselves in such clinical terms?

Likewise, the part entitled "Religious Fasting" would be more universally expressed as "Spiritual Fasting", and consider a broader variety of people who are spiritual, but practice outside of organized religion and/or its doctrine. I consider this lack of universality to be a minor flaw.

In summary, "Fasting" is a great movie, because it raises awareness of a social phenomenon that has been relevant in prehistoric, ancient and modern times. "Fasting" is relevant to the human experience on Earth, and it's presented in a meaningful way, regardless of one's personal feelings about the phenomenon itself or different people's experiences with it.

I am thinking, I am waiting, I am fasting, right now. 8/10

Regardless of some negative comments, this is a 'good' documentary.

[frottles · 9/10 · 11 June 2019]

It will be obvious to many that Spielberg didn't make this documentary however, the content is well balanced, science based and very informative. The topic should be a wake up call to the populus. As a species we have sleep walked into a dangerous and life threatening eating regime. There are many reasons for this but the topic of fasting and the various methods that can be utilised, has the potential to help us undo some of the problems that we have created and the consequences of which we often now suffer. Yes, this is a relatively new concept which needs more time to be proven fully and yes, if the guidelines and medical supervision (where necessary) are ignored, there can be serious side effects, but some of the less extreme versions should be able to let most people make educated choices as to how they can address some of the problems that we face as a modern species. I have to admit that I needed to watch it twice to get all of the information into my head, but it was time well spent. I and others in my family have some chronic conditions which might benefit from trying some of the less extreme versions of fasting. I for one will be trying some of the methods and then make up my own mind as to how it suits 'me'.