Just came back from watching this. It is a fanastic film and moving. It also made its case very well concerning Bush and his agenda for the Iraqi war. The film as most know is divided into two parts. The first part is pre 9/11 and deals with the conspiracy theories around Bush, his connection to the Saudis, etc...
Mostly the weakest part of the film as Moore stretched himself several times when he "conjectured" what Bush was thinking or when he tried to spin out a possible scenario for a meeting between Bush and Prince Bandar.
The opening was a rehash of all the election conspiracy stuff that just made me want to go: Get over it! You lost how about trying to actually win THIS coming election.
But there are some strong points as well:
What if Clinton had flown the McVeigh's family out of the US days after the Oklahoma city bombging and out of US and its jurisdiction without questioning them?
For those who believe the tripe about his mistatement when he says the Saudis have given the Bush family 1.8 billion OVER TIME, he said it quite clearly to my ears and I was listening for this phantom drop in volume that some right wingers complained about. (As if that makes any difference, we're talking about billions with a B) In fact the more I watched the film the more it became Bowling for Columbine redux in terms of the remarks and critiques of the right wing and other Moore haters. In other words their mostly bullshit.
Bush's money connection to the Saudis early on is clearly established, where did all the money come from to save every company that bastard drove into the ground? Why were there mystery savior investors that came in and pumped much needed cash into his ventures.
The entire Bush family and associates are clearly shown as finincially vested with the Saudis, from Baker, to Cheney to Daddy Bush and Shrub.
Now we come to the second half. This is by far the strongest and got very vocal reactions from the crowd.
First we start with the weaknesses:
Moore's portrayal of Iraq as a happy go lucky place with children laughing and playting and people living normal lives was over the top. Iraq was no paradise on Earth and hardly the Eden that he intended to show before the bombs dropped.
Plus his heavy handed statements that we started a war with a nation that never attacked us, never threatened us and never killed an American citizen was groan inducing. Guess he missed out on the whole Gulf War and the years afterward.
I did not like Moore's grotesque display of human carnage in particular children in pain and suffering. As a parent I was appalled and could not look at the screen and I am far from squeamish. I understood what he was trying to accomplish but it just did not go over well with me.
On to the strengths:
Bush looks like a total and complete jack ass. His statements interpersed by what we see is almost manically funny if it weren't true. Throughout the film in fact he is just made to look like an utter moron.
The Iraqi war footage is sobering and should make you angry that we've sent these young men to fight and die for a cause they have no idea what it is and for a claim that is now just fucking false. If any of you "There are WMD's we just have to wait a little longer" crowd can actually claim this after watching the film and seeing the concrete statements by Powell and Rice in early 2000 and 2001 that there WERE NO WMD's and in particular Powell who stated that Sadaam was "contained and could not project power" then good for you, your brain was lost somewhere between the theater and your ass.
The mother who lost her son was heart wrenching and then we have the infamous scene where some pro war TWAT steps in and demands to know where her son died and that the whole thing was staged looks like and sounds like the ass that she is.
Make no mistake, this is not a fair and balanced film but then again, here's the funny part, when is a documentary ever fair and balanced? Especially when Moore himself claims that this is his I hate Bush film. At least he has a mountain of evidence that shows what a fucking convoluted plot this was and agrees with most books I've read on the subject (Bush at War, Against all Enemies, etc) that Bush and his crowd were looking for an excuse to go after Iraq.
SEE THIS MOVIE. It will make you think about everything concerning this war.
I also want to address a critique I read somewhere about Moore's portrayal of the soldiers in this film. Someone claimed that it made the American soldiers look like marauders and idiots because they pumped themselves up with music and spout jingoistic nonsense. WATCH THE FUCKING MOVIE., There is a point to this portrayal. These kids are 19-20 years old, now watch the interviews a few months into the war. these kids look haggard, tired and as one mournfully states: "I thought we came here to help these people but they hate us for being here, then when something goes wrong they hate us for not being there...I hate this fucking country."
Not the same pumped up soldiers we saw when the war started is it?
The end was a stirring tribuet to these men and women. "They step up to protect the very system that brought them up and keeps them in poverty. They serve so that we don't have to and all that they ask is that we don't put them in harm's way unless it is absolutely neccesary."
Anti soldier? FUCK YOU. That's anti Bush and sums up my hatred for this cynical administration that sent these wonderful people to die for nothing unl;ess you agree with the moving goal posts crowds that have conveniently forgotten the WMD claims and now tout a new free Iraq.
Moore also ties back into his Culture of Fear thesis from Bowling with some very telling video segments and people in small podunk towns claiming that the terrorists could even strike here and one guy saying "Hell you shouldn't even trust the people you do know."
His portryal of the military as a last resort for poor people and how they are aggressivley courted by recruiters who instead of going to the nice suburban malls they go to the "other mall." as Moore puts it. is sobering indeed.
If you hate this movie fine, but if you refuse to see this movie because of alleged "lies" that you have not seen for yourself then congratulations moron, you've just let someone else think for you. make up your own fucking mind then come to me and talk about it.
