Fahrenheit 9/11 (18) Review

Overall Rating

Opens your eyes to political intrigues and control.

Slightly biased in presentation.

Fahrenheit 9/11 - Michael Moore is a controversial figure, a political activist in the guise of a film-maker, a voice in the crowd in these days when the little people rarely get heard. I must admit that I loved Bowling For Columbine, a film that examines the American love affair with the gun, a straight forward attack on the laws and policy, as well as the attitudes in modern day America that make guns so prevalent. With 9/11 he is on more dangerous territory, they say don't discuss politics or religion, and this film is based heavily in one and touches on the other.

The problem with making a film based around ideas that have a fundamentaly political basis is that there are never any clear cut answers, politics is one of those tricky beasts that is as much about the big picture and moral opinion as anything else. Facts are easily put together to show any scenario from the angle that you wish to portray, so any film of this type is probably politicaly biased.

That said, I found the film to be presented well, the arguments and portrayal of ideas convincing and the information startling. Michael Moore does aim to shock. So what is the film about? Without giving away his conclusions, it's about the connections between certain members of the American government and the Saudi Arabian business world. This may seem harmless enough, but what is startling is the amount of Saudi investment there is in the American business world. The Bush family, for example, earn far more of their income from Saudi backers than they do from their American concerns. Who is George Bush`s real boss, asks Moore, not the American people. Again, not a major controversy until you find out that the biggest of those investors is the Saudi-Bin Laden Corporation.

Other areas examined are the level of freindships and co-operation between the two business communities, the strings pulled and blind eyes turned in the wake of 9/11 and the real reason that America went to war with Iraq, who incidentally, according to the C.I.A., have no connection with Bin Laden's terrorist organisation.

A lot of the Bush empire, like that of his close friends, is based on the sale of arms, legitimate arms, such as the Abrams Tank, the American Army`s weapon of choice. However, the best way to keep the money rolling in with such interests is to keep a demand for the product and in this case that means war. War against the Afgahnistan-based terrorist organisation of Bin Laden? No, Iraq will do nicely.

The information is presented in a style familiar to you who have seen him at work before. The facts are generally contained in interviews and newsreel, which are spliced together to great effect. Some may say the information is used out of context, but it is all relevant, and interesting when placed together in such a way. The use of soundtrack and film techniques pull this documentary, normally a dry medium to work in, into the realm of quality film making and award winning territory.

Whether you agree with his conclusions or not is not the point, but it is a case for a different opinion on some of the major decisions of our time to be brought into the spotlight. Some see him as an anarchist, some as un-American, but whatever your opinion of Moore, at least we live in a society where he is allowed to publicly air his concerns.

The film basically drives the point home that you can remain loyal to your country and its armed forces, but can still criticise the men in suits who make the policies.