Raising the temperature

(OK, I only saw this for the first time last night, but just imagine you're reading this post a few months ago, when it would actually have been topical...)

Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11' doesn't contain much I wasn't expecting, though that shouldn't sound like a criticism. It has all the positive hallmarks of his previous work: it's passionate and emotive; it's tenacious in its one-sidedness (and one-sidedness is exactly what is needed to combat the syrupy propaganda oozing out of the mouths of Bush, Blair, the Western media et al); it joins the dots in a predominantly persuasive and convincing way; it's an efficient hatchet job on those supposedly democratically elected to protect and defend our interests rather than their own and those of their friends, the "have-mores"; and it raises issues that have been marginalised or ignored - in this case, particularly the aggressive recruitment policy of the Armed Forces in economically impoverished areas of the US.

Something which I found pleasantly novel about the film was Moore's general tendency to take a step back and let others and his chosen images (obviously selectively edited, to be sure) to do the talking. He's not usually noted for his subtlety but this is refreshing.

But, as with 'Stupid White Men' and 'Bowling For Columbine', it's not without its faults, either: it's very much made with an American audience in mind, which means that not only is the impact on America, and particularly young servicemen and women, emphasised ahead of the carnage wreaked in Iraq, but the role of other nations, including Britain, in the invasion is hardly mentioned; despite disparaging the US Patriot Act Moore fails to take the opportunity to illustrate the hypocrisy of allegedly exporting "freedom" and "democracy" to Iraq whilst simultaneously encroaching further and further upon the rights and civil liberties of those back home; and towards the end it starts to lose focus slightly, the sharpness of its attack on Bush blunted in favour of lengthy sequences of footage of traumatised soldiers and their families which stray unpleasantly close to voyeurism.

To condemn 'Fahrenheit 9/11' for these reasons, though, would be carping - nothing should be allowed to detract from the fact that Moore is one of the good guys, no matter how blunt and unsavoury some of his tactics are to some sniffy liberals.

On the subject of Iraq, a number of bloggers have posted their thoughts on the murder of Ken Bigley - here is a selection from Casino Avenue, The Whole Wide World Of Fat Buddha and South By South East. In short, and for what little it's worth, my view would be that, whilst it was undoubtedly an unimaginable horror for him, his family and friends, the loss of no one life should be regarded as more significant or tragic than that of any other, whether they be a contracted worker, a member of the Allied forces or an innocent Iraqi citizen killed in Allied bombing raids.

(How come I was only seeing 'Fahrenheit 9/11' for the first time, you may be wondering. Well, I was slack and missed it first time around, but thankfully, the cinema at the Midlands Art Centre (MAC) in Edgbaston is showing it four times this week. The place is proof positive to me that Birmingham does have things going for it, and I'm going back on Sunday for a screening of 'Brighton Rock', which is on as part of the season to mark the centenary of Graham Greene's birth.)