I haven't ever seen any of Michael Moore's films, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. In the end, I thought it was an interesting film with a lot of interesting things to say, but several moments where I felt like it just kind of meandered around. I thought all the things he was pointing out about the fear-ridden culture of America is exactly correct, and that was a fascinating point... but then there were so many moments where I was clear on what facts he was trying to bring to light.
I appreciate the questions he was asking and I think he found some good possible answers, but the film jumps from theory to story to illustration of a previous theory to personal anecdote to clips of the other side acting crazy, without tying them together as much as I would have liked. It was a clash of tones - jumping from topic to topic made it *seem* like an exploratory documentary, but then he so clearly had an answer he already believed in, and so all the jumping around and asking, "What about this? What about this?" kind of just felt like quasi-ADD interjections, or an obligatory nod to other theories while really just wanting to share his own opinions. Some very interesting moments, but I have a feeling his other films won't sit with me much better. 3 stars.
Best Part: Like I said, I loved the whole section on our culture being very much motivated by fear. He had some really interesting moments showing that, and I thought it was put together well.
Worst Part: I get annoyed when I feel like filmmakers, especially documentary filmmakers, are so blatantly looking for one specific answer rather than truly exploring the topic, which is what I felt he was doing here.
Flickchart: #749, below Unbreakable and above Over the Hedge.
1 comment:
We've talked at length (and then some!) elsewhere about placing films in their proper historical context and I think documentaries are especially demanding of at least some consciousness of that. At the time, every activist, journalist, politician and armchair philosopher had weighed in on the shooting and its implications. Bowling for Columbine may not be as focused as you would like (and I can easily see your point on that), but at the time it was one of the clearer surveys of the various themes that were touched on by that horrific shooting.
For my money, it features one of the best moments of investigative journalism I've seen yet on film: Moore's confrontation of Charlton Heston. Many found that "unfair," but as far as I'm concerned, the NRA President should have been prepared to answer those questions at any time. His failure to even try spoke volumes.
I've only seen three of Moore's docs to date; this one (obviously), Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sicko. My feelings on the three are similar to yours. I find his overall thesis pretty convincing, I want to really applaud specific sections, but on the whole I find myself wondering why we moved from Topic A to Topic B with unanswered, and even unasked, questions still on the table.
It's #330/1334 on my Flickchart at this exact moment, which admittedly seems a bit high to me, but I think it's fluctuated wildly. It's sandwiched between Pulp Fiction and The Exorcist. That might actually be a fun trilogy some time!
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