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This is the movie that they didn’t want you to see! Michael Eisner, the chairman of Disney, blocked Miramax (owned by Disney) from releasing Fahrenheit 9/11 because it was too controversial. However after a lot of pressure he finally sold the rights to Lions Gate films, who are currently distributing the movie. So why is this film so controversial? Well, it’s because it’s about President Bush and his close relationship to the Saudi Arabian elite and how it has compromised his objectivity in his decisions in the current war on Iraq. More shockingly, the movie depicts the utter arrogance, dishonesty, and incompetence of the current administration in its attempt to deceiving the American people into fighting a war that shouldn’t be fought.

Unlike Moore’s previous films, he has a relatively small screen presence Fahrenheit 9/11. While he does commandeer an ice cream truck and drives around Washington reading the U.S. Patriot Act through a loudspeaker and stands outside the Capitol building trying to persuade members of Congress to enlist their children in the armed forces, the bulk of the movie centers around Lila Lipscomb, a mother of a son who was killed in Iraq. At first Moore presents Lila as a strong minded individual who is proud of her family’s military service. However as the movie progresses Lila breaks down while reading her son’s last letter. At that point we begin to question ourselves. Is the loss of an innocent life worth the greed and lies that have been given to us by the administration?

I find most documentaries fairly boring, however Moore really knows how to spice things up to make even the dullest information entertaining. All the clips used in this movie are accompanied by Moore’s sarcastic commentary. In addition, he uses an appropriate soundtrack to emphasize each moment. For example, when he mentions that the future President was suspended for missing a medical examination, we hear a Hendrix guitar riff in the background which alludes to us that there were drugs involved. Nevertheless, the best scenes in this movie have to be the unscripted footage of the President and his staff looking ridiculous on camera right before going live on the air.

This is a movie that is going to be hotly debated in the upcoming weeks. People who support the President will claim that this movie is simply propaganda, while anti-Bush fanatics will use it to support their claims. What do I think about this movie? First off, I think that it takes a lot of balls to make such a film. I am aware that shows like the “Daily Show” and “Saturday Night Live” regularly make fun of the president; however Moore actually presents facts and arguments in addition to making Bush look silly. There are a lot of claims that the facts and arguments presented in this movie are extremely one sided or simply a bunch of lies. First of all, why does Moore have to present two sides of the issue? He’s just proving his point of view; you do not have to agree with it. Secondly, if it takes a liar to reveal an even bigger liar then I’m all for it. If Bush feels that he has been slandered by this movie, he should by all means take the case to a court of law; otherwise there is really no point in arguing about the validity of information presented in this movie. In conclusion, I deeply respect Moore for putting out such a controversial film. While Hollywood is full of directors willing to make all kinds of films, there are very few who are bold enough to take the criticism and make something that is not politically correct and Michael Moore is one of them.