Fahrenheit 9/11

Fahrenheit 9/11

Well, spent twenty minutes in line waiting to buy tickets to the 7:25 Friday night showing of Fahrenheit 9/11, the new Michael Moore film that opened today.

I make no bones about my political bend. I will also be the first to tell you I am a huge Moore fan. I own Bowling, Roger and Me, and The Awful Truth (the series) on DVD, and have watched them all numerous times. That said, I knew Fahrenheit 9/11 to be a different Michael Moore film, unlike his other outings. I knew from early on that this was not a ‘Film Moore going in this door to sandbag some poor PR person’, and that this was a ‘message’ film. I fully intended to judge this film on the films merits, not based on my political views, nor my enjoyment of Moore’s work in general.

All I can say is, WOW. I almost feel bad for Bush Co. This film is a brutal attack on this sitting President. Unfortunately for Bush, it is also an honest one.

Moore attempts to form a link between the Bin Ladden family and the Bush family, and while interesting, and possibly true, I think the connection is tenuous at best. It does go a long way, however, to laying the groundwork for the real message of this film: the inherent wrongness of our invasion of Iraq.

Fahrenheit 9/11 will do one of two things: make you hate Michael Moore for lying about your President, or make you pissed off and vow to vote him out of office. What I don’t think it will do is change the views of Bush supporters, but it may go a long way for those sitting on the fence. Personally, if I were a member of the Democratic Party, I would have had people outside this film handing out flyers. (I am not a member of any party.)

If you though Passion of the Christ was a powerful film, wait to you see this one. This is about the here and now, not about two thousand year old history. This is about American kids (most solders) dying in Iraq every day, and shows you (according to the film maker) why they are dying.

I won’t tell you that this film is 100% accurate in everything it shows of implies. I will leave you to judge that for yourself. I would ask you to go and watch the film; not to make more money for Michael Moore or the Weinstein brothers, but because this is an important film that will force you to think. Even if you are a Bush supporter, you should watch this film, not because I think you will be swayed on way or the other, but so you can hold an intelligent, more informed opinion on current world events.

This is not a ‘fun’ movie to sit through. At times you will laugh. You will feel uncomfortable. You will get angry. And, unless you are completely devoid of basic human emotion, you will want to cry, or at least become chocked up. But one thing you will not be is bored.