Kaffeine Buzz reviews independent and foreign films,
in addition to reporting the latest buzz behind Colorado's film festivals.

fahrenheit 9/11 (michael moore)

There are staunch conservatives and Republicans that are already rallying against this movie site unseen, and for good reason. One can expect that their scared of losing control of the White House. Of those that were on the fence and were part of a focus group in Michigan, they left with their minds more than made up that Bush was not going to receive their vote for president. "We found that if you entered the theater on the fence, you fell off it somewhere during those two hours," Moore told the New York Times. "It ignites a fire in people who had given up."

After I left the Mayan Theater, the misty, rainy day met my mood of immense anger, frustration, and sadness, much like the day when the two towers fell. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore's new film fills in the blanks left by the national media's neglect in finding out the real facts behind the Bush administration's role in the war in Iraq, his family's ongoing business relationship with Saudi royals, and his friend's role in making money off of the war itself.

The movie begins with what could have been a dream, or a nightmare, is how Bush even got his boot in the oval office, and how protesters retaliated by throwing eggs and taking to the streets with signs of anger, which did not enable him to make the traditional walk to the White House.

As opposed to other Moore films, his narration is his biggest presence in the film, and he uses tact when taking us back to that day in September. Leaving just a black screen with the sounds of people in utter panic, he allows us to use our own visualizations via what is already etched in our brain.

There are the typical Moore-like antics that combine with facts many of us don't know, like those in congress rarely read the bills they're signing, like the Patriot Act. So as a courtesy, Moore gets an ice cream truck and reads the Patriot Act to the politicians mulling around. They also film the mother of a fallen soldier who has been a patriot her whole life, flies a flag in front of her house on a daily basis, and is torn apart as she stands in front of the White House in pain. Here anger and sorrow was felt throughout the theater as she gazed across the fenced area, wondering why our president started a war with no clear reason behind it, and as a result, her son is gone to her forever. It also points out being against the war is not being against the troops. It is our patriotism and love for human life, the lives of our men and women, which cause us to raise our fists in anger every time another soldier is killed without a real cause or reason. We have to ask ourselves, "What are they dying for?" just as other Americans did back in the days of Vietnam.

The 1.4 billion in Saudi money that's connected to the Bush family's fortune is one of the biggest issues that are brought to light, from the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis but the we went and bombed Iraq instead, 25 Saudis getting flights out of the U.S. just days after 9/11 and without any questioning, Saudi money that funded Al Qaeda, the bin Laden family's investments in Bush companies such as Harken, and that a long time buddy of Bush, James R Bath managed the money for the bin Laden family. After president Bush restricted many efforts made to investigate the 9/11 bombings and then censored 28 pages of a report that was finally released, families of those who died sued the bin Laden family, and it was James R. Bath who was hired to defend the Saudi royals.

The facts continue stacking up, and with every piece of evidence of Bush's abuse of his position, his obvious disregard for truth and integrity, the millions of dollars being made in the Iraqi war by companies Halliburton, United Defense (237 million) and even Microsoft, and his utter buffoon like antics such as continuing to read "My Pet Goat" to school children after the first plane hit, and the second, one has to again ask why an independent filmmaker is bringing us this information and not CBS or CNN. Maybe another film needs to be done on what really goes on behind studio doors.

MoveOn.org will be present at theaters across the country to promote MoveOn "Turn Up The Heat" national town meetings where local advocates and citizens will discuss the movie, their thoughts on the upcoming election and get a chance to ask question of Michael Moore who will be available via an Internet based conference call.

For more information on the movie, go to:
www.michaelmoore.com

For more information on attending a town meeting, go to:
http://action.moveon.org/f911/?zip=

Fahrenheit 9/11 is playing in Denver at the Mayan. Go to www.landmarktheaters.com for show times.

-by Kim Owens, June 24, 2004