M=4
F=3
For Michael Moore, I think this was his best and maybe least controversial film to date. Why? Because as biased as Moore may be, that doesn’t change the fact that the United States healthcare is a broken and bankrupt system. It is bankrupt in efficiency, care, cost and quite possibly, in morals as well. Sure Moore cherry picks the cases he highlights and yes he pretty much only shows the positive aspects to other healthcare systems. Despite that, even the smallest nugget of truth in this film should make you angry. I know I caught myself several times wondering this: “What does this say about our country? How bad must this appear to other countries?” I suppose the most frightening thing about seeing the big picture is that even though you know all the elements, seeing them woven together paints a harsh picture of this country and allows one to see why some people in this world feel we are evil. America is certainly not evil, but when one looks at our healthcare system from the outside, you can almost see the government twirling its collective mustache while it stands on the railroad tracks over a child with cancer. Things are not that black and white and Americans certainly do care. Hopefully a movie like this can wake people up so that instead of feeling badly about the problem they will instead feel strongly about reforming it.
This is all kind of the beauty and frustration of Moore’s work. Like him or not, you have to admit that as a filmmaker he has a certain flair and he most definitely gets people to talk about issues. Art should spark debate. It should make people talk. Even if it is bad art, its strength and power lies in how is affects society in the end. Moore’s work forces people to talk and when it comes to this subject matter, I doubt there is any debate more in need of talk than this one. As Americans, some of the boldest and proudest people in the world, why is this subject so difficult for us to do anything about? Why do we acknowledge the shame of it while at the same time shove it back in the closet? The simplest answer is greed.
The free market is rather ironically named in the case of healthcare, because nothing is really free. This is especially insulting when insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies are making record profits. Who exactly is this system working for? Not the people that need to use it for sure. So greed by the people who run the business seems to be the most obvious answer as to why status quo is maintained. Those with the money have the power to make changes and they are at the point now when they are making so much money from the changes they have already made that trying to counterattack any new change they make in their favor is becoming harder and harder to plan.
I know our love affair with capitalism is a terminal one, but that should not blind us to all its blemishes and unsightly warts. My favorite moment in the film is one where Moore recounts the nationalized services our country offers, and how there is no inherent evil in them. An audience member can certainly do the math on his analogy, and it is an effective moment in the film. Other effective moments in the film include the classic heartstring tugging stories and Moore’s usual showboat tactics. For the first time I didn’t feel the awkwardness or discomfort in his tactics. I was aware they were staged and aware they were skewed, but I didn’t feel any moment was too over the top as in his past films. Even the much talked about trip to Cuba did not make me uncomfortable. Did the Cuban government go out of its way to make itself look good? Undoubtedly. Did that mean that any of those moments were less effective? Not really. There is a scene with Cuban fireman and although you get the feeling that they were likely forced to turn out for the cameras and maybe don’t feel so great about the visitors, that did not nullify the sentiment behind the stunt. At least it did not for me. I think everyone there understood where one another stood, but at the same time, there was a bond among the participants not only in their professional lives but even at the most basic of human levels. We do not have to be alike to be able to feel compassion for one another. I think this film goes a long way toward expressing and repeatedly underlying that sentiment. Maybe, just maybe, it will remind us that we do not have to settle for a system the systematically destroys lives but that we can take our destiny in our hands as we have so often before, and demand a change. Our rebellious and caring nature as a country in so many areas has inspired other nations to take that road lead in healthcare reform. Why can’t we do what comes natural to us and bring about that change as well? This film could be a catalyst for that change. Maybe not. But the issue deserves attention and this film provides an excellent opportunity to start the conversation. This film is powerful and haunting. During the Fourth of July week when we celebrate what is great about our country and those guiding principles in its founding, what better time to release a movie that prompts us to remember those things?
This is all kind of the beauty and frustration of Moore’s work. Like him or not, you have to admit that as a filmmaker he has a certain flair and he most definitely gets people to talk about issues. Art should spark debate. It should make people talk. Even if it is bad art, its strength and power lies in how is affects society in the end. Moore’s work forces people to talk and when it comes to this subject matter, I doubt there is any debate more in need of talk than this one. As Americans, some of the boldest and proudest people in the world, why is this subject so difficult for us to do anything about? Why do we acknowledge the shame of it while at the same time shove it back in the closet? The simplest answer is greed.
The free market is rather ironically named in the case of healthcare, because nothing is really free. This is especially insulting when insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies are making record profits. Who exactly is this system working for? Not the people that need to use it for sure. So greed by the people who run the business seems to be the most obvious answer as to why status quo is maintained. Those with the money have the power to make changes and they are at the point now when they are making so much money from the changes they have already made that trying to counterattack any new change they make in their favor is becoming harder and harder to plan.
I know our love affair with capitalism is a terminal one, but that should not blind us to all its blemishes and unsightly warts. My favorite moment in the film is one where Moore recounts the nationalized services our country offers, and how there is no inherent evil in them. An audience member can certainly do the math on his analogy, and it is an effective moment in the film. Other effective moments in the film include the classic heartstring tugging stories and Moore’s usual showboat tactics. For the first time I didn’t feel the awkwardness or discomfort in his tactics. I was aware they were staged and aware they were skewed, but I didn’t feel any moment was too over the top as in his past films. Even the much talked about trip to Cuba did not make me uncomfortable. Did the Cuban government go out of its way to make itself look good? Undoubtedly. Did that mean that any of those moments were less effective? Not really. There is a scene with Cuban fireman and although you get the feeling that they were likely forced to turn out for the cameras and maybe don’t feel so great about the visitors, that did not nullify the sentiment behind the stunt. At least it did not for me. I think everyone there understood where one another stood, but at the same time, there was a bond among the participants not only in their professional lives but even at the most basic of human levels. We do not have to be alike to be able to feel compassion for one another. I think this film goes a long way toward expressing and repeatedly underlying that sentiment. Maybe, just maybe, it will remind us that we do not have to settle for a system the systematically destroys lives but that we can take our destiny in our hands as we have so often before, and demand a change. Our rebellious and caring nature as a country in so many areas has inspired other nations to take that road lead in healthcare reform. Why can’t we do what comes natural to us and bring about that change as well? This film could be a catalyst for that change. Maybe not. But the issue deserves attention and this film provides an excellent opportunity to start the conversation. This film is powerful and haunting. During the Fourth of July week when we celebrate what is great about our country and those guiding principles in its founding, what better time to release a movie that prompts us to remember those things?
This was by far, his best film. Very moving and very informative.
Great review.
Agreed with you and Jerry.