Sicko (2007)
Friday, July 13th, 2007
Written & Directed by: Michael Moore
Cast: Michael Moore, George W. Bush, Reggie Cervantes, John Graham, and William Maher
Runtime: 113 min.
Rating: PG-13
Trailer
What a shame the majority of discussions surrounding Sicko, either during the lead up hype prior to the film’s release or during its theatrical run, center on Michael Moore’s trip to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In the film, which tackles the United States’ deeply flawed healthcare policies, Moore takes volunteers and workers struggling with chronic ailments as a direct result being at ground zero during the 9/11 attacks to Guantanamo Bay, expecting them to receive free medical care. The same medical care the locked up terrorists and prisoner receive, as the trailers for the film and endless publicity clips show. What this invariably does is make Moore appear as a political pawn and focuses all the attention on nothing more than a cheap stunt that takes up a small portion of the film, ultimately distracting from the real issue Moore addresses during most of Sicko’s running time. The talking points taken up by both Moore apologists and adversaries centers on U.S./Cuba foreign policy and relations and not on the healthcare system – a topic that Moore convincingly exposes as fraudulent and outdated. The film, Moore’s first after the hugely successful Fahrenheit 9/11 and arguably his best is a searing indictment of U.S. health insurance companies and like his first film, Roger & Me, a denunciation of American corporate greed and its harmful effects on the average citizen. It manages to be funny, heartbreaking, entertaining and revelatory – all Michael Moore staples, whether he pulls them off properly or not. Of course, the term “documentary” gets tossed around flippantly when it comes to his films, implying a certain kind of journalistic integrity and objectivity that is without bias and only interested in straight facts. This is often the common gripe with Moore’s populist cinema, especially with critics and political figures (see Fred Thompson), who see Moore as a left-leaning boogeyman hell-bent on turning America into a welfare state of no-good communist dandies. Moore, though, never pretends to be making conventional documentaries. He uses conformist documentary techniques like talking heads, voice-overs and teary-eyed emotional confessions, yet what makes his films unique is his clear manipulation of the medium, especially when he includes himself as a bumbling fish-out-of-water into the narrative. What Moore is doing is writing an op-ed piece or a thesis paper in the language of film and disguised as populist entertainment. Regardless of his bending and blurring of facts, Moore manages to connect emotionally with his audience. No small accomplishment for a documentary. Looking at Sicko as a long political advertisement, its genius lies in its ability to create controversy, stir debate and educate the public (albeit sparingly). Isn’t that what all politicians, oops, filmmakers hope to achieve?
Richard X
© Cinephile Magazine, 2007
