Fearless Writer ... Reviews

Stars: George W Bush, Michael Moore, Khalil bin Laden, Barbara Bush, Al Gore
Director: Michael Moore

Launching from the platform of George W Bush’s rather dubious 2001 election win, Fahrenheit 9/11 is another two-hour socialist diatribe from the maker of Bowling For Columbine, Michael Moore. Like its forerunner, 9/11 combines emotionalism with selected facts to express disgust at the Bush administration and generally whinge about the deleterious effects of capitalism.

Starting with the protests at Bush’s inauguration, we move on to the close links his family has always had with Saudi oil barons. From this Moore builds an elaborate conspiracy theory, suggesting the war on terror and invasion of Iraq were nothing more than scams to create a climate of fear where Bush and his buddies could profit from their military investments. Furthermore, he claims that most of those killed in action come from America’s poor families – and in one of Fahrenheit’s more pithy scenes (see photo), he attempts to get US senators to enlist their children in the army.

If even half of what Michael Moore alleges about the Bush family is true (and it probably is) then the current American government must be one of the most corrupt in history. In typical Moore style, however, he is so one-eyed and pushes his agenda so hard that his credibility suffers. His attempt to paint Iraq under Saddam Hussein’s regime as a really lovely place where kids spent all their time flying kites is unintentionally hilarious. It’s as faulty as showing footage of the Hollywood elite and saying they represent greater America. No doubt the people of Flint, Michigan – which Moore seems to view as the moral and emotional epicentre of the US – would have something to say about that.

Certainly, the world needs a left-wing discontent like Michael Moore to keep things in balance, but if people take his entertaining films (let’s not call them documentaries) as gospel, then he is really no better than the politicians he is striving to bring down. Two wrongs don’t make a right, not even where a “goofy child president” (as the late Hunter S Thompson so aptly described Bush) is concerned.

VERDICT: 3.5/5

ON THE DVD

FEATURETTE Not a making-of, but rather reactions to Fahrenheit 9/11 and further rhetoric from Moore himself. The Cannes jury gets all misty-eyed about his desire to make movies rather than political statements, a White House communications director makes a stupid remark that he “doesn’t need to see it”, then Moore tops him by ranting about capitalism and limits on free speech, apparently forgetting that the US government did nothing to censor his film. One of his supporters comes perilously close to paranoia when they suggest that 9/11’s R-rating was “politically motivated”.

IRAQ PRE-INVASION A film crew went over to Iraq just prior to America’s “invasion” and this, as Moore so carefully qualifies it, is SOME of what they saw. It amounts to a bunch of interviews where Iraqi people express how happy they are. Again, it ignores the fact that thousands of civilians were slaughtered under Saddam’s reign.

PRISON RELEASE – ABU GHRAIB Painted in the film as being victims, here the American soldiers are depicted as brutal. Which is it, Moore?

URBAN HAMMID A Swedish journalist who went on a campaign with the American troops offers his “impressions” – basically a long-winded affirmation of Moore’s stance.

BUSH ROSE GARDEN Michael Moore is wasting his time trying to discredit Dubya – ol’ Georgie does a perfectly good job on his own. Here Bush emerges from a meeting with the 9/11 Commission and blabbers on about nothing, refusing to give the media any real details. He says, “It was a good discussion” about five different ways, sidesteps a couple of questions with all the grace of a drunken rhinoceros, then leaves. Maybe this lack of information is in the interests of national security … and maybe it’s in the interests of George W Bush.

OTHER EXTRAS Mostly more of the same, with the exception of a piece on Arab-American comedians who developed a wealth of material from the anti-Arab sentiment following 9/11. Much of it is very amusing, although one or two of them break the comedy rule by getting preachy. Unlike Columbine, there is no commentary from Moore, which is rather odd.