Excellent New Review of F9/11 from NYT's .....Interesting Observations.

[KoKo]

Unruly Scorn Leaves Room for Restraint, but Not a Lot
By A. O. SCOTT

http://movies2.nytimes.com/2004/06/23/movies/23FAHR.html?8dpc=&pagewanted=print&position=

After you leave the theater, some questions are likely to linger about Mr. Moore's views on the war in Afghanistan, about whether he thinks the homeland security program has been too intrusive or not intrusive enough, and about how he thinks the government should have responded to the murderous jihadists who attacked the United States on Sept. 11. At the same time, though, it may be that the confusions trailing Mr. Moore's narrative are what make "Fahrenheit 9/11" an authentic and indispensable document of its time. The film can be seen as an effort to wrest clarity from shock, anger and dismay, and if parts of it seem rash, overstated or muddled, well, so has the national mood.

If "Fahrenheit 9/11" consisted solely of talking heads and unflattering glimpses of public figures, it would be, depending on your politics, either a rousing call to arms or an irresponsible provocation, but it might not persuade you to re-examine your assumptions. But the movie is much more than "Dude, Where's My Country," carried out by other means. It is worth seeing, debating and thinking about, regardless of your political allegiances.

Mr. Moore's populist instincts have never been sharper, and he is, as ever, at his best when he turns down the showmanship and listens to what people have to say. "Fahrenheit 9/11" is, along with everything else, an extraordinary collage of ordinary American voices: soldiers in the field, an Oregon state trooper patrolling the border, and, above all, citizens of Flint, Mich., Mr. Moore's hometown. The trauma that deindustrialization visited on that city was the subject of "Roger and Me," and that film remains fresh 15 years later, now that the volunteer army has replaced the automobile factory as the vehicle for upward mobility.

The most moving sections of "Fahrenheit 9/11" concern Lila Lipscomb, a cheerful state employee and former welfare recipient who wears a crucifix pendant and an American flag lapel pin. When we first meet her, she is proud of her family's military service — a daughter served in the Persian Gulf war and a son, Michael Pedersen, was a marine in Iraq — and grateful for the opportunities it has offered. Then Michael is killed in Karbala, and in sharing her grief with Mr. Moore, she also gives his film an eloquence that its most determined critics will find hard to dismiss. Mr. Bush is under no obligation to answer Mr. Moore's charges, but he will have to answer to Mrs. Lipscomb.

[ParanoidPat]

1. Was that last line you posted taken from Will Pitt's piece?

Sounds somehow familiar. :shrug: :evilgrin:

[KoKo]

3. It's from NYT's ...maybe the guy read Pitt. Plagerism is rampant these

days about Moore's film. Mostly on the Right though. They change a word or two and it's the same Repug Talking point propaganda sheet.

:D

[anarchy1999]

2. SWEEET!!! And Powerful. "..... answer to Mrs Lipscomb."!

My husband was moved to tears over this part of the documentary. He had a train wreck and crashed, first time in the last two years. He cried in public, outside of the theater with friends. That is powerful.

This should be shown on every network station there is. Take back our airwaves.

[Cha]

4. This is another interesting take on F9/11...

I can never get enough viewpoints of this movie..

"Mostly, though, he sifts through the public record, constructing a chronicle of misrule that stretches from the Florida recount to the events of this spring. His case is synthetic rather than comprehensive, and it is not always internally consistent. He dwells on the connections between the Bush family and the Saudi Arabian elite (including the bin Laden family), and while he creates a strong impression of unseemly coziness, his larger point is not altogether clear."

I got why Michael Moore was dwelling on the bin ladens and the bushes...suprised he didn't..The bush's will do more for the bin ladens at 1.4Billion$$$Bucks a year than the Amuriken people at $400,000 a year.

I had forgotten about the Oregon Coast patrol...I want to tell my daughter who lives in Portland that..that is in F9/11.

[KoKo]

5. Kick...good stuff. n/t