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Caught it this morning; it's showing on two screens in Nashville and both have been sold out for every showing. More on that, later.
There are several levels on which I'm reacting to; as a relative leftie, as a citizen, and as a movie goer.
As a leftie, there's much to cheer for. Everything we've been harping about for the last 3 years and met with either insults or silence is right there in Michael Moore's hate letter to Bush. Election 2000 - check. White House ties to the corporate world - check. White House ties to the bin Laden family - check. Patriot Act - check. Poor kids sent off to fight rich mens' wars - check. Enron - check. Booker Elementary - check (although not conducted in real time, as I've seen some reviews claim it is). AWOL - check. And so on, and so on.
Basically it's an affirmation, especially in light of the sold out shows, that in spite of the major news media ignoring our concerns while happily spewing RW talking points for the last, say, 10-15 years (obviously this preceeds W), someone else thinks things are pretty fucked up, too. And because most pitbulls on the political left rarely have opportunity address the public in mass numbers, Michael Moore is a hero right now. It's why his film is doing well.
As a citizen, one of the most effective parts of the film (for me, at least) was Moore's use of footage to demonstrate the cozy relationship between the Bush Familia (including Bath & Baker) and the Saudi Royals. Not so much for the "oh! they're in bed with the Saudis!" aspect, but that it briefly shows the impact of dynasty on American politics. We pretend to be the great Republic, in reality we are run by princes.
At the beginning and the ending of the film, Moore shows Bush administration officials just before and just after curtain time for several appearances. This veil should be lifted more often, more higher.
As a film goer, my reaction is mixed. Initially I felt he could have chopped out 45 minutes or more and presented a more focused, less broad attack and been more effective. There are several documentaries that could have been gotten out of this material. The rampant cynicism revolving around the Iraqi war alone would be devastating. In one scene, there was a convention of sorts for businesses looking to get involved in Iraqi rebuilding contracts. Footage shows the CEO of Harris Communications (big radio company for the technical side, big DoD contractor, IIRC) addressing the crowd, saying how much money there is to be made once the oil gets flowing.
Another mini-movie involved the Florida mess. You may have seen other reviews point out a scene that happened in the capital that never got shown outside of C-Span. Several Representatives, every one of them minorities, attempting to challenge the election, but unable to go anywhere with it because not one Senator would sign on. They were mostly African-Americans, of the same race as the majority of the pre-election-roll-scrubbed voters, in protest addressing the Vice President, who presided over the Senate, as "President Gore," and Gore having to tell them to sit down and shut up.
An effective scene, but one that initially I didn't think necessary for the film. Likewise, GW's military records. Likewise, Lila Lipscomb, the Flint, Michegan mother whose son died in Karbala.
The other thing, as a Bush administration critic, I would have preferred to have seen more humor. Making someone irrelevant does more to undermine them than protesting against them.
One thing he did right involved the WTC attacks. Rather than show footage of the crashes, he showed the reactions of the devastated people on the ground, watching it unfold. Much easier for the film-goer to identify with those people than the ones jumping out of the towers.
Whether you think GWB is doing a fine job or not, this is probably a film that's going to leave you pissed off.
And, about those two screens. They've been sold out the entire weekend. In all of Nashville, the film is playing at one theatre, the one that's in the heart of BoBo central - where lives the youth population second least-likely to enlist, and least likely to be drafted, should it come to that. OTOH, probably most likely to vote come November. Many of Tennessee's minority voters also lodged complaints of disenfranchisement, too, by the way. There were reports of last-minute movement of polling places with no notice, intimidation, early closings. But not on the side of town where F9/11 is being shown.
Finally, the R rating is totally undeserved. The only difference between the violence in this movie and others with a PG rating is the latter uses make-up for similar effects.
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