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Movie Reviews
| Fahrenheit 9/11. Dir. by Michael Moore. Miramax Films, 2004. 122 mins.
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Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 deserves special attention.
It is the highest-grossing and perhaps the most-watched documentary
film on a political subject in American history. The production,
which cost only $6 million to make, topped $100 million in earnings
by early August 2004, and sales of videos and DVDs are expected
to raise the gross to much higher levels. Fahrenheit 9/11
has become arguably the most controversial American-made documentary.
In the weeks after its release, supporters and critics debated its
merits and flaws vehemently. Some praised Michael Moore for delivering
a hard-hitting, gutsy interpretation of recent events. Others lambasted
him for juxtaposing evidence unfairly and delivering propaganda,
not history.
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Fahrenheit 9/11 is especially provocative for three reasons. It raises serious questions about the rationale for American military action in Iraq. The documentary also presents President George W. Bush in a strongly unfavorable light. Finally, Fahrenheit 9/11 draws attention to the plight of Americans and Iraqis who have been physically and mentally harmed by the war. |
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Moore claims that the true motives for U.S. military intervention in Iraq were not the noble and strategic reasons promoted by President Bush and leaders in his administration. The filmmaker indicates that Iraq's government under Saddam Hussein was not significantly involved with Al-Qaeda or the attacks of 9/11. At various points in Fahrenheit 9/11 Moore suggests that proponents of intervention were motivated by greed. He explores ties between the Bush family's fortunes and the fortunes of the Saudi royal family as well as the wealthy bin Laden family of Saudi Arabia. The director also reports on the activities of wealthy investment groups that stood to realize huge profits from the occupation of Iraq and the rebuilding of its oil industry. |
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President Bush looks like a weak leader in Fahrenheit 9/11 rather than the sure-footed commander of America's struggle against terrorists. Moore includes clips showing the president looking sinister just minutes before delivering an important war message to the nation. In another unflattering clip, the president delivers a message to journalists while on a golf course. "We must stop the terror," he says firmly and then lines up for a shot while telling the assembled reporters, "Now watch this drive!" The most memorable footage shows Bush looking dazed as he reads to elementary school children for nearly seven minutes after being informed that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center. |
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Fahrenheit 9/11 claims that Iraqi civilians and American soldiers (as well as their families) have paid a heavy price since the war began. Moore shows Iraqis living cheerfully in the prewar days and then quickly shifts to footage of heavy bombing in Baghdad, the destruction of Iraqi homes, and the horrible deaths and maiming caused by the war. He also shows American soldiers nursing physical and mental wounds at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. As in Roger and Me (1989), Moore communicates sympathy for poor Americans, who are often the victims of decisions made by powerful people. He reports on the military's efforts to recruit poor Americans from regions that have been blighted by hard economic times. Moore also appears on the sidewalks of Washington, D.C., near the Capitol. He asks several congressmen who voted for war if they wish to volunteer their sons for combat in Iraq. Not one accepts his invitation. Moore reports that only one congressman had a son in active service in Iraq at the time. |
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