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Fahrenheit 9/11 I keep thinking this is The Passion of the Christ all over again. People who support Fahrenheit 9/11 will scream from the rooftops how this movie is truth and everyone needs to see it (part of Director Michael Moore's claim that it deserved a PG-13 rating instead of an R, but more on that later). Those against it will claim Moore misrepresents the facts and uses creative editing to make his point. Already, some interview subjects such as Congressman Mark Kennedy (R-MN) are running around like Omarosa from The Apprentice claiming they were made to look bad due to the editing. All of this makes Fahrenheit 9/11 a tough movie to review, but an interesting one. Since director Michael Moore is trying to make a case against U.S. involvement in Iraq, arguing that Bush and his administration took advantage of the environment to go to war, and trying to prove a connection between President Bush and Osama Bin Laden, I think you have to judge the movie on whether or not he has effectively made those cases using facts, and if Moore has done so in an entertaining way. Based on those criteria, Fahrenheit 9/11 is a good movie, and one that will be an Oscar contender for Best Documentary. The movie is a walk through recent history, guided by liberal crusader Michael Moore (a label he wears proudly). He starts with a funny look at Election Night 2000, the Florida debacle and his case for how Bush won the election, although he will claim it was grand theft more than an electoral win. Then, Moore takes us through the early days of the Bush Presidency, the big August 2001 vacation, September 11, the war against terror, homeland security, homeland fears of terrorism and the war in Iraq. I think Moore has made two movies here, both equally compelling in their own right, but possibly not two that go together. The first hour of Fahrenheit 9/11, where Moore outlines various business connection between the Saudis, the Bin Laden family and the Bush family, stands as some of the director's best work to date. All of the sudden, the audience will feel as if they have walked in on a 60 Minutes expose' rather than a Michael Moore film, but it's an approach that will open many eyes and make you think about the case Moore lays out, including a new tie between President Bush's military service and future business dealings. After a middle portion of Fahrenheit 9/11, where the director examines reaction to the terrorist attacks, he jumps into the emotional portion of the film. The last half of the movie is Moore's indictment of the Iraq war and his questioning of why the war has been fought. You'd have to be less than human to remain unmoved by Moore's interviews with a mother whose son is in Iraq, the people who have been injured in the war, and soldiers' reactions to it all, but this is the part of the movie where Moore comes up a bit short. It's a very emotional reaction to the situation, which stands in contrast to the investigative report feel to the beginning of Fahrenheit 9/11. He rails against corporations who plan on engaging in new business in Iraq, the benefits soldiers lack, recruitment of the poor who are told the military is a job and a hope, and the innocent victims every war seems to have (red meat for his constituency). However, what's the point? He fails to tell us more than war is ugly, which is something we all know, and poor people do the fighting while the rich get richer, which is another thing we all know. The film's biggest surprise is how the most publicized parts of Fahrenheit 9/11 are so meaningless in the overall picture. Much has been made about how various members of the Bin Laden family were flown out of the United States in the days following the terrorist attacks, and whether or not they were properly interrogated or if they received special permission to fly when all airplanes were grounded. However, this is the least compelling of the alleged connections between the Bin Ladens and the Bushes. Many of us will get a laugh out of watching Moore walk around Capitol Hill asking Congressmen if they would like to recruit their kids to serve in the military in Iraq, but it's just a passing part of the film that comes very late in the movie, after you have made up your mind whether or not you like Fahrenheit 9/11. Finally, Moore's controversial footage of Iraqi prisoners being abused by U.S. soldiers is used more to show the reaction soldiers are having to the stress of the situation and an argument that an immoral war has caused these men and women to act immorally instead of an uncovering of the human rights abuses America should be avoiding. If you think that's the end of the controversies, you'd be wrong. Fahrenheit 9/11 has been surrounded by controversy including author Ray Bradbury's anger that Moore based the title on Bradbury's legendary book Fahrenheit 451; Moore feuding with Disney since the Mouse House originally paid for the movie, but refused to distribute it after they saw Fahrenheit 9/11(but they let Miramax's Weinstein Brothers buy it and find a new distributor); and the latest controversy regarding its R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. Moore believes the MPAA should have given the movie a PG-13 rating to allow teenagers, who are being recruited to fight the war in Iraq (as seen in the movie), to see what they might be facing since we have not seen on television many of these scenes of Iraq civilian casualties and the soldiers who oppose the war. According to Moore, "Older teenagers are being sent to Iraq, some never to return. To say that teenagers shouldn't see this movie means that the truth should be kept from them. I encourage all teenagers to come see my movie, by any means necessary. If you need me to sneak you in, let me know." However, I support the R rating because this is heavy material. Moore, to his credit, has shown some moving and graphic footage of bodies burned by bombs, people horribly injured and more. I think parents need to judge of their kid can handle this, and the R rating, in theory, gives them the chance to decide what these underage children view. Say what you will about Moore's politics, but he knows how to make a good movie. I wish more Republicans were on camera or had a chance to defend the accusations, but Moore doesn't make it clear if he ever asked them to do so. Whether you believe his case or not, Fahrenheit 9/11 is a movie that makes you think and feel. 3 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com
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