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 Americans. Their health care system, compared even to the British and Canadian systems, is delightful, second to none.
Furthermore, I have to commend Moore's attempt to usurp the antagonistic relationship between the French and Americans, even positing that perhaps we're told to hate the French because we might like what we see. It's a wonderful concept, and considering the diametric opposition of their respective health-care systems, the precept holds a surprising amount of weight.
Moore does wield an emotional meat-hook in the latter parts of the film, introducing us to a number of maltreated September 11th voluntary rescue workers, yet the nature of their work is ancillary to the point Moore is making, and the point he makes (that not even rescue workers can receive adequate health-care) is highly relevant, and moreover, highly disturbing. Moore possesses the intellect not to dwell on the actual events of September 11th, and even when he does so, it is contrasted with a considerably more substantial loss the tens of thousands of Allied soldiers lost in World War 2. Never does Sicko become a sickeningly-patriotic or jingoistic attempt to validate the American tradition, nor douse itself in political values Moore, for the most part, tells it how it is, with little bias and genuine sympathy.
Moore is no stranger to making bombastic, overblown statements, and Sicko is no different he illustrates the irony of the American system by visiting Guantanamo Bay, whereby suspected terrorists receive greater health-care than the aforementioned rescue workers. Moore takes his point to its most ironic, hilarious and extreme, yet once again, he raises a valid point, doing so in a way that is both memorable and easy to digest.
In less cartoon-esque fashion, Moore and his cohorts visit Cuba, where a considerably more worrying and taxing question is raised in a country with only a fraction of the resources of America, how is it that everyone can receive adequate, affordable health-care, whilst Americans still struggle? It raises questions about the bureaucracy of the American system, and for a fleeting moment, causes Moore's conspiracy theories to seem slightly less futile. Moore's visit to Cuba, through its shocking slap to the American face, disgusts, and frankly leads one to enjoy residing outside of America.
By its end, Sicko does delve into sentimentality, rather dramatically displaying a stagy meeting between the Cuban fire service and the American voluntary rescue workers. Yes, it borders on saccharine, and diverges almost entirely from the purpose of Moore's documentary, yet as with the French instance, it seeks to bridge the cultural gap and say we're all human beings, and we're all in the same boat. It's a nice idea, and whilst Moore needn't break out the violins like he almost does, it doesn't leave too sour a taste in the mouth, and certainly doesn't last for too long.
Michael Moore's Sicko is a very inverse, inward criticism of America's health-care system. As with even Bowling For Columbine, it's not perfect Moore omits certain facts in lieu of fast-paced, memorable sound-bytes, but his various set pieces are more often than not amusingly unforgettable, as well as entirely relevant. Sicko delivers a crushing blow to the current system, and very clearly illustrates that this system is in much need of an overhaul. Moore's finest moments are the personal ones, speaking to those well and truly devastated by the existing precedent, and they certainly provide the most weight to his cause. Moore is a true voice of our time, and his latest polemic is a welcome installment.