REPORT DEAD LINKS --- we can't keep this site up-to-date without your help
âCapitalism: A Love Storyâ / A review by truthdig.com
Posted on Oct 1, 2009 / capitalismalovestory.com
By Peter Scheer
Editorâs note: âCapitalism: A Love Storyâ opens nationwide Friday, Oct. 2.
Rated R for language / 120 minutes.
Michael Mooreâs latest look at whatâs wrong (and right) with America is a lot betterâand a lot more radicalâ
than some of the brie-eaters reviewing it think. Itâs a cry from the soul of a man who sees the whole country
turning into his hometown hell of Flint, Mich.
That seems like egomania to some. David Denby of The New Yorker writes that Moore is âmesmerized by
Flintâs tragedies.â But Moore is right. This recession, with its rampant foreclosures, imploding auto industry,
greedy fat cats and dazed and desperate commoners, has been highly reminiscent of the directorâs first film,
the classic âRoger and Me.â
The Village Voice calls âCapitalism: A Love Storyâ a âpoint-by-point retreadâ of that documentary, but thatâs
not entirely fair. Moore looks to his 1989 film as a historical document of the moment when the first shock
waves of modern steroidal capitalism could be felt. But Moore doesnât just return to his roots, he comes
to viewâwith the help of the Catholic Churchâcapitalism as a fundamentally evil system that has destroyed
American democracy and demands a revolution.
As someone who might have been tempted by popularity and success, Moore deserves credit for not
resting on his millions and producing a safe pop documentary, something mildly provocative but ultimately
palatable. Instead, âCapitalismâ is a call to class warfare, with Moore cleverly dividing the classes into the
top 1 percent and everyone else, including himself.
Thatâs not a divide of his making. The American economy over the last 30 years has showered the richest
1 percent with wealth at the expense of the rest of us. Sure, weâve heard it before, but Moore digs up some
dirt that breathes new life into the statisticâsomething that happens a lot in âCapitalism.â
The filmâs detractors say itâs over the top and unfocused. Denby writes that itâs ânot a good movie or a
coherent exposition of the meltdownâ and âBy the end of the movie, baffled, [Moore] resorts to his old gags.â
But Michael Moore is not a clown. He is a wildly successful innovator whose âgagsâ are usually quite
effective. Moore begins the movie by placing the audience inside a home undergoing foreclosure. The
residents huddle together while sheriffâs deputies surround the house and literally beat the door down.
The scene resembles a horror movie, complete with splintering wood and booming sound, but it is
inescapably real and, ultimately, very sad.
It has been all too easy for the chattering class (readers of The New Yorker, perhaps?) to ignore the
suffering of the average American in this crisis. News coverage dwells on the rebounding Dow, while
food banks run out of stores. Mooreâs portraits of down-on-their luck Americans are haunting.
True to form, the movie is also quite funny. In a flash of genius, Moore dubs a classic Hollywood Jesus,
who refuses to heal the poor and demands deregulation. Jesus actually has a big role in the movie,
which is much more religious than you might expect. For Moore, this is a moral question, one that was
answered 2,000 years ago by a god who loved the poor above all and felt very different about the rich.
The revelation that capitalism is evil doesnât come from the director, but his bishop.
In the end, Moore does not have nearly enough time to make a full indictment of capitalism. He could
have gone the Ken Burns route and taken over PBS for a month and a half to prosecute a tedious case
against profit. Instead, he weaves together a few horrifying examples, casts new light on familiar ground
and hammers away at the conclusion that our economic way of life inevitably destroys everything it touches.
The purpose of this movie is not to educate so much as it is to inspire. The workers squatting at the
Republic Windows and Doors factory in Chicago, whom you may recall from the 2008 election, became
symbols for what might be achieved if we band together and resist. Moore presents Barack Obamaâs
historic election in a similar fashionâthe remarkable accomplishment of millions of Americans defying
the oligarchs. But Obamaâs role in this mess makes for a gaping void in âCapitalism.â
Moore completely lets the president off the hook. He criticizes Obamaâs top economic adviser, Larry
Summers. He makes the case that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner (conspicuously labeled
â2009-presentâ) has been an abject failure at everything he has done. He even points out that the
financial industry tried to buy Obama with millions in donations.
But just as he is about to swing, Moore drops his bat, interrupting his own argument with footage from
that memorable night when Barack Obama became the first black man elected president. Itâs a bit of
a time warp. Weâre supposed to be mad at the people working for Obama now, but when we think of
the man in charge, we should focus on the election.
Another deficiency is Mooreâs plea at the end of the movie for the audience to join him in resistance.
But how exactly? At least Glenn Beck had the nerve to organize a march. The movie also drags in
places, and the inexplicable appearance of character actor Wallace Shawn is simply distracting.
Itâs not a perfect movie, but it is essential for these times. âCapitalism: A Love Storyâ will make your
blood boil. Maybe, Michael Moore hopes, youâll do something about it.
---------- end ----------
From: http://www.primeronmoney.com
Help us help libraries across this country
help the people of this contry understand
how money and banking works so they,
the people, can work to perfect the system.
Capitalism -- a review by truthdig.com -- page 2 of 2