On September 11th, 2001, the United States was deliberately and ruthlessly attacked by terrorists, killing thousands in an act that shocked and horrified the world. In the months that followed, new security measures were enacted, new acts were passed, and, in the years that followed, America committed to war in Afghanistan and Iraq in response. At least, that's the story that we were told but Michael Moore doesn't quite believe it. That fateful morning of September 11th is where Fahrenheit 9/11 begins.
In the weeks after the attacks, the reaction of the president came into focus. He was doing a reading session at an elementary school in Sarasota, Florida when he was informed of the second attack on the World Trade Center. Some critics felt he should have abruptly left, but President Bush felt it was more important to keep the children calm until he knew more about what was going on. Michael Moore shows this event with a timer on the screen as we watch the president reading the book with the children. The implication being that the president took far too long to react than he should have because he was indecisive. And that is the Michael Moore signature. In a third person documentary following the events of that fateful day, it would be noted what happened in the classroom and pundits from both sides would offer their opinion of whether or not Bush was right in his decision to finish the story. Moore, as a first person filmmaker, with no interest in being objective, clearly implies he feels Bush was wrong.
The parts of Moore's documentaries that his supporters love and his detractors hate are usually the same parts. His supporters point to his arguments as sound critiques, while his detractors say those arguments are falsely argued. For instance, in another moment, Moore shows the president stating jovially that his political base is rich. Moore's supporters may agree with this cinematic decision. His detractors may point out that the "statement" was a joke at a press dinner, something Moore conveniently leaves out. And that is the problem that even Moore's supporters have with many of his films as well. Even when they agree with the core of Moore's arguments, or at least his beliefs, he muddies the waters by using slightly dishonest editing choices.
Still, Michael Moore has played a vastly important role in bringing documentaries into the modern age. Not only has Moore made it acceptable to put polemics at the center of documentary filmmaking, but he's made it successful as well. Moore has given birth to a new age of documentary filmmaking in which activists and polemicists across the world use film to make their point louder than any words ever could. The success of Roger and Me made the case that documentaries could make money and entertain large audiences. That entertainment comes from Moore's uncanny sense of how and when to mix comedy with the brutal reality of the subject at hand. Moore isn't always very serious, but it's through levity that he often makes his most trenchant arguments.
Fahrenheit 9/11 won the Oscar for Best Documentary and was the highest grossing documentary to ever take home the award. In fact, as of this writing, it is the highest grossing documentary ever, period. It also won the prestigious Palme d,Or at the Cannes Film Festival, something many had never expected of a documentary competing against fictional narrative works.
In the end, the arguments against Michael Moore probably miss the point. Moore is a polemicist making movies, not a movie maker who wants be a polemicist. When he's criticized for deceptive editing or leaving facts out, it misses the point that his intention is not to make an objective third person documentary, but a passionate first person one that states its case while never shying away from which side it believes is right. Does Fahrenheit 9/11 feel one-sided? Of course it does, that's the point. Michael Moore is making a documentary about what he believes should or should not have happened. Moore doesn't care if you like him or hate him. He just wants you to know where he stands.
Director: Michael Moore
Screenplay: Michael Moore
Cinematography: Urban Hamid
Art Direction: Dina Varano (uncredited)
Music: Jeff Gibbs
Film Editing: Kurt Engfehr, Woody Richman, Chris Seward
C-121m.
By Greg Ferrara
