by The Film Blogger

Created on: September 11, 2009

Love or hate Michael Moore, it's difficult to deny that he knows how to make a persuasive, and more to the point, entertaining documentary. Whilst his Fahrenheit 9/11 was far less compelling than the wildly witty Bowling for Columbine, Moore's latest film, Sicko, a scathing commentary on the American health-care system, seeks to return Moore's acerbic wit and relent in pushing the political trundle-wheel.

Moore's jovial tone is very much abundant mere moments into Sicko, highlighting the absurdity of the American health care system with his customary whimsical flair the fact that a man had to, through financial constraints, choose to re-attach only one of his two severed fingers, is both disgusting and preposterous. Thus, Sicko is a darkly comic pastiche, a sprawling portrait of a number of deeply unfortunate individuals dealt a foul hand by the health-care system, voiced by Moore's usual sarcasm and inquisitive sentiment.

The film also seeks to infiltrate those within the insurance and health-care industry. Do all of these persons advocate the unfair conditions of the system itself? No, and Moore is smart enough to reflect this balance we meet the seedy, dirt-slinging bureaucrats, as well as the sympathetic individuals who are themselves disgusted with the current system.

Moore is masterful in his exposition of the down-right disturbing those in positions of power in this system are gambling with people's lives the stories we are told are truly heartbreaking, and one must question the morality of those high up in the industry. As the few individuals with consciences step forward to atone for their acts, Moore asks us what is the price of a life?

Perhaps Sicko's only faux pas is its insistence to approach the rather disinteresting conspiracy angle. Fortunately, Moore doesn't dwell on it long enough to become trite and tiresome, promptly returning to the real meat of the documentary the very intimate, personal, and touching stories.

Whilst it serves Moore well to consider the health-services of other nations, such as Canada, the United Kingdom and France, Moore's visits to these locales are fleeting and serve as little more than supporting statements to his original argument. Moore fails to point out any inherent flaws in these systems, but he can be forgiven considering that, even with their flaws, these systems clearly put the American one to shame. As Moore points out the French, even with their penchant for fatty foods and wine, live longer (on average) than

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