The name Michael Moore is a supremely polarizing force in contemporary filmmaking and politics. Three years ago the charismatic director and writer wrote, produced and directed Fahrenheit 911, a movie that brazenly attempted to link the Bush family to the bin Ladens and prove culpability for the tragedy of 911. Reactions to the movie were so intense that certain political circles attempted to block its distribution by Disney prior to its release. In spite of the hostility, the film was a box office success and went on to earn a not too shabby US $220 million, a record for a documentary (the DVD sold 2 million copies alone on the day of its release). It would be hard to deny Mr. Moore due praise for producing highly amusing documentaries that tackle complex, divisive issues and still present them in a way that fosters healthy discussion amongst viewers. I had a chance to see his latest movie, Sicko, recently
online and I have to say, it is probably his best and most important work. The theme of the movie, well known by now, is the fractured, inefficient and often times ruthless American medical system that is run by large corporations (several are mentioned in the movie, most notably Kaiser Permanente) bent on maximizing profits at whatever cost to civil society. What the movie does so effectively is to dispel all myths of universal health care in the western world as practiced in Canada, the UK, France and unbelievably Cuba (I'll get to this later): long wait times, underpaid health professionals and mediocre care among others. The suffering of Americans whose lives have been financially and physically ruined by devastating injury is juxtaposed with those of others in countries where health care is
free (ok, not really free) and universal. We learn that not only is such a system viable and financially sound but it does more to alleviate the sufferings of the citizenry than our broken system, and indelibly affects people's perception of their government (it is in France that Mr. Moore learns that the government fears its citizenry and is thus beholden to their interests, while in America it is the reverse). Numerous personal anecdotes of lives touched by the inhumane medical system appeal to the viewer's emotion, though Mr. Moore takes pains to introduce facts to reinforce his case (he replays a 1971 discussion of then President Richard Nixon with an aide discussing the passage of a bill that essentially creates the for-profit HMOs that have come to dominate the industry that is particularly chilling). Yet the most audacious part of the movie is the end, where a group of former NYC firefighers and volunteers from the cleanup of the 911 rubble, all penniless and beset by serious physical and psychological trauma visit Cuba to investigate the supposed world class health care system of the notorious Fidel regime. What they find goes against all their preconceived notions and bias of the communist state and forcefully demonstrates how such a rich, advanced society such as America is actually far lagging in aspects when compared to an impoverished, third world nation. Mr. Moore is a master of exploiting these ironies. Bravo.