Sicko

Michael Moore, 2007, 122m

In this tragi-comic documentary, Moore again unloosens cannon fire on American society. He is a born clown and like the clown in Lear, he uses tears and laughter to lay bare the anomalies of our age. This time his target is the notorious American medical health care system, in which the profit motive appears the prime, and taking care of the old and sick, the least, of considerations. This is contrasted to the universal health care systems prevalent in Canada and Europe. In the final hilarious sequence of the film, Moore takes a boat load of sick citizens denied care in the US, landing up in Guantanamo Bay, where the incarcerated Al Qaeda suspects have access to state of the art treatment. Moore demands the same for his passengers, some of whom made heroic contributions during the 911 attack. Finally, they avail the excellent facilities in Cuba.

The term Sicko presumably applies to the greed which is the defining feature and driving force of American society. This is possibly the most scathing of Moore's films. Old age and sickness are primal human sufferings. To have access to timely, affordable and humane treatment, as is possible in many industrialised countries excepting the US, is a dream for most of us. Moore is an impassioned crusader as well as a gifted artist who cannot fail to have an impact on the ills he chooses to attack.

Fahrenheit 911

Michael Moore, 122m, 2004

This sledgehammer documentary starts by portraying the deceptions preceding Bush's assumption of the Presidency. Iraq was made the scapegoat for avenging 911, since it had no connection with 911, nor was it making WNDs. We learn of the astronomical business profits which could accrue from control of Iraqi oil, and this was a major consideration before and after the terrorist attack. The American people were apparently duped into supporting the unnecessary and unjustifiable conflict, so costly in human terms. Marshaling an array of startling information, Moore once again gives us a riveting glimpse into the workings of the modern world, as he perceives it. He is a propagandist before he is a documentarian, but his projections have the ring of authenticity, and he is certainly speaking on behalf of the common man. Moore's films definitely have considerable educational value for innocents, bias notwithstanding.

Capitalism: a Love Story

Michael Moore, 126m, 2009

This film gives a startling picture of the workings of the American economy, a picture which looks uncomfortably familiar at the other end of the globe, as the world transforms towards a homogenised McDonald's. 95% of the wealth we are told, gets siphoned to the upper 1% of the populace. The complexity of the system, in the hands of predatory corporations, inflicts suffering and heartbreak on the ordinary folk, or "peasants", as they are euphemistically referred. The banks are painted the chief villains, holding de facto control on the reins of governance, and the devilishly intricate engines of exploitation. This is an openly propagandist piece, and Moore, distinguished documentarian that he is, using every trick of satire and parody, lets loose this powerful onslaught on the injustices capitalism in general, and banking in particular, are alleged to represent. A must see movie.

Auschwitz 2011 and Auschwitz 2011

1. Uwe Boll (dir), 70m
2. Wudzki (dir), 58m
These are two quite two different films with the same name, year and topic. The first is a mixture of documentary and feature. It is a totally unnecessary film, giving a crude treatment which adds nothing to the discourse. The other is a well made documentary, sensitively narrated which revives the yet fresh memory of the unprecedented and unspeakable events.

The Stranger

Orson Welles, 1946, 90m

A straight suspense thriller which could easily be mistaken for Hitchcock, except for its lack of psychological depth, or Freudian overtones. Its about an escaped German war criminal, and the chase to pin him down. It is characteristic of Welles to chose the challenge of an outright villain. He was driven by the creative urge, never aiming at being an icon of any kind. The references to the chambers seem farcical, since so grim a topic seems unfit for box office fodder, and that too in 1946. A less than riveting movie in its genre.