MICHAEL Moore is probably the most successful documentary filmmaker of all time, a man who has made a career out of searching for the truth, in the hope that his country can benefit as a result.
Who better then, on the eve of his 62nd birthday, the age of mandatory retirement from the US military, to send abroad on a special fact finding mission.
Yes, Moore has been selected by his government, or so he tells us, to stage a one-man invasion of enemy countries, and steal their secrets.
But these aren’t secrets of the military kind, and Moore isn’t looking to topple uncooperative dictators.
After years of failed wars all across the globe (and Moore is quick to remind us that his mother country has lost them all), a new strategy has been formed.
Instead of spending billions on weapons and losing millions of lives, the United States has decided to send Moore on his own, to observe how others live and prosper, engage with them and ask nicely, if they mind if he takes their ideas back home.
Moore visits France where he sees how schoolchildren eat real food prepared by a chef under the guidance of a dietitian. He heads to Scandinavia where children don’t have any homework, and yet are the most successful students in the world.
In Iceland he interviews the regulatory authorities who actually prosecuted and imprisoned their criminal bankers.
The director is an expert at exposing the truth and doing so in a matter of fact and humorous fashion. This film will leave you in no doubt that the United States is so far from being the greatest country on earth, it’s not even funny, will have you questioning every aspect of how society functions, and will have you laughing along the way. Interestingly, Moore visits Ireland this week to give a documentary masterclass. I wonder will he take back any ideas from the Emerald Isle?
We could certainly learn a thing or two from his film, which we score a perfect, 5 out of 5 stars.
Paul O’Rourke
