I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
Reviewed by Andrew Hedley
Michael Moore’s latest bit of edutainment is a documentary about the American Health System and how it compares to other countries. It’s got a strong argument, if a bit predictable, with interviewees crying on camera (it’s probably the second take – ‘once more please, with feeling’) and the usual jibes at President Bush, but gone are Moore’s more personal attacks in which he’ll corner a CEO and embarrass him publicly. Moore has a worthy cause but highlights problems in the broadest sense, without offering solutions.
Sicko is all about how the American Government does not provide free public health care (‘free’ being a word that Moore doesn’t explore). Sick people are often turned away from hospital because they can’t afford to pay for treatment. Doctors get rewarded if they keep their treatment levels down to reduce spending. Various horror stories get thrown at us – dying babies, desperate retirees relying on their children, etc.
Then there’s the inevitable links with the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York. Moore looks at the heroes that have been left in the cold because they were not on the official payroll of the emergency services (Volunteers don’t get any financial assistance from the government). The show stopper comes when he takes this select group on a boat out to Guantanamo Bay Prison, where he’s heard the prisoners get a good deal with health services (His simple reasoning being that the prisoners get better treatment than American citizens). All that happens is that he sits out in the boat. No one comes out to meet him. A siren goes off, but nothing else.
Large sections of the film are spent in England and France, where the health systems are infinitely preferable in almost every way. It’s here that Moore’s omissions and bending of the truth is most obvious. His links between the countries are tenuous. There’s a montage about the wonderful nature of the French system, immediately followed by a look at the homeless situation in America. There’s no real link at all here. France also has a huge homeless population, illegal refugees, and conditions of poverty but Moore never touches on it. Furthermore, the system of government and taxation in England and France is different to that in the United States, but once again, that ain’t mentioned either.
It’s admirable of Moore to highlight the weaknesses in his country’s health service, but he skirts around the subject of how his government would be able to improve it. The irrefutable evidence, regardless of spinning the truth, points to the limitations of a severely disastrous American Health System. It is a terrible system, by its nature driven by profits not by compassion. Sicko underlines that point with ease. But Moore’s rather earnest intentions are very transparent. His selectivity and simplifications are at times frustrating. His rather glib summations are irritating.
What purpose does this documentary have outside the United States? Perhaps those interested in policy making or medical affairs will be interested, but it’s not really smart enough for them, and it’s not relevant enough for anyone else.
Watching for years about how Americans sob about losing loved ones because of their Health System - DAMN- this explains what it's ALL about!!! Money! Money! Money! Get those tissues out. And from now on keep an eye on Pharmac and our NZ MP's. This movie may give NZ MP's an idea of how to get more money from the average kiwi. Or has it already begun?
Freaking awesome. It just confirmed that I never want to live in America. Vive La France
to see that two thirds of the reviewers here have brains - and know how to use them. Tim, you nailed the core of the argument: healthcare is a service just like any other service. If one is to justify the enslavement of doctors to serve us as a birthright, where does it end? The right to be nourished? Should farmers and grocers serve the people as a non-profit group because food is a necessity? Darger nails the core of Moore: that the fat bastard is a terminal bitch with nothing better to do than be hysterical, who has thus far offer NOTHING in the way of a better idea. Yossarian - you're either a communist or a complete sucker: Michael Moore is a cancer gnawing its host, a malignant tumour in country that has done more for humanity than all the world’s nations put together. Their research scientists - and businessmen who have mass-produced their medicines - have almost doubled global life-expectancy - including the third world nations. When Moore has his inevitable heart-bypass operation, let’s see which country he goes to for treatment.
Moore's lost his verve... he's ditched the shock tactics and this feels a bit heavy. I think his stuff is more effective when it's funny. Plus just highlighting a problem is getting tiresome... where's the solution Michael?
A noble effort by Mr. Moore. This a good film on a horrible and sad system. Health care should not be a matter of finance, it is a human right. The health of Americans is simply a profit motive for immoral companies getting rich on the suffering of people, of you and me. Doctors play along as they get rich and forget the responsibility they have to cure and heal and treat, not enrich.
The film ain't perfect; there are still scenes that any independent editor would have happily dumped or at least sliced to the bone, but Sicko is still the best and most conscientious film that Moore has made...
1/2 Sicko Is flawed and occasionally stretches to make its point, but the movie's message speaks for itself...
This is a movie, not a position paper, and Moore aims to entertain as he informs...
1/2 In a summer of dumb, shameless drivel, Moore delivers a movie of robust mind and heart. You'll laugh till it hurts...
This is the don't-feel-good movie of the year and one of Moore's best. He's been criticised for not offering any solutions to the problem, but surely drawing attention to it is the first step to fixing it...
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 16th Aug 2007.
Release date: August 16th 2007.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
