Posted 10-2-07

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Kevin Carr's DVD Review

Michael Moore Hates America (R)

Movie:
DVD Experience:

Starring:

• Michael Wilson as HIMSELF
• Michael Moore as HIMSELF
  

Studio: Allumination Filmworks

Directed by: Michael Wilson

With a title like “Michael Moore Hates America,” one might expect a highly partisan, caustic, overly critical, conservative preach. Surprisingly, that’s not what you’ll find in this film. Leave that role to be represented by copycat anti-Michael Moore movies like “Celsius 41.11” and “Fahrenhype 9/11.”

Instead, with “Michael Moore Hates America,” you get a relatively sober look at America’s most controversial documentarian from the eyes of a filmgoer. Michael Wilson saw that his life was very much like Michael Moore’s, so he wondered why they ended up with such different ideologies. (For the record, Wilson is a libertarian, not a died-in-the-wool Republican, but he still parts ways with Moore on many issues.)

Don’t let the title fool you. Instead of a hit piece on Michael Moore’s politics, Wilson examines Moore’s techniques, particularly the dishonest approaches he uses in filmmaking. Wilson interviews people from Moore’s films “Bowling for Columbine” and “Fahrenheit 9/11” to show how Moore had played with facts, presentation and chronology to make a political point.

Rather than discovering truth within his title, Wilson discovers more about himself – that he feels compelled to be honest in his own filmmaking, even if it puts his product in jeopardy.

Since Moore’s indelible and entertaining (yet arguably dishonest) impact on documentary filmmaking, Wilson’s journey is a necessary one. He proves that one can still use the documentary technique to discover truth rather than create it, and he challenges others to take the higher ground.

Whether you’re liberal or conservative, whether you like Michael Moore or hate him, this is an honest film that deserves an honest look.

Kevin Carr, WyomingNetwork's movie reviewer, is both a movie fan and a filmmaker. A professional entertainment reporter, Kevin also writes film reviews for FilmThreat online magazine (www.filmthreat.com). In his "spare" time, Kevin is the CEO of the independent production company 7M Pictures, which posts new films every week. Check it out at www.7mpictures.com and have a few laughs.

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