Fahrenheit 911: Movie Review

Michael Moore's political documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, about the Bush administration's first four years in office has generated a lot of controversy and in the process broken all box-office records for the genre.

The film, described as an "op-ed" piece by Moore, is anything but a run-of-the-mill documentary. Michael Moore, the producer, writer, director and narrator of the movie has no intention of looking at the "other side of the picture" while judging President George W. Bush and his performance in office. As a result, the movie was bound to offend (and does offend) the Bush supporters. At the same time, it raises some very provocative and thought-provoking questions about the Bush administration's handling of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and its aftermath. Not all of the charges against President Bush are new but have been presented in an innovative manner on film.

The Bush family is accused of having had long-standing business relations with the Bin-Ladins and other Saudis and Moore attributes the government-sponsored evacuation of the Bin Ladins following the 9/11 attacks to the connection. Bush's 'War on Terror' in Afghanistan and Iraq is depicted as a cynical attempt to benefit his friends in the oil and defense industry.

Two of the most memorable moments in the film involve 'behind the scene' shots of President Bush and his Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. The first is the, by now famous, scene of the President continuing to read "My Pet Goat" to school children even after being informed of the 9/11 attacks. The other shows Wolfowitz putting the comb in his mouth to slick down his hair while preparing for a TV interview.

Michael Moore's objective in making the film, of course, was to show George W. Bush in the worst possible light in an election year. On November 2, the U.S. electorate re-elected Bush for 4 more years with a significant vote-margin. Just goes to show that Fahrenheit 9/11, whatever its merits, is a film that does no more than preach to the already converted.