[StBernard] Michael Moore new fill premieres

[Westley Annis]

Moore premieres new documentary in Venice, not without some criticism


Published: 9/6/09, 3:49 PM EDT

VENICE, Italy (AP) - Michael Moore says his film "Capitalism: A Love Story"
is dedicated to "good people ... who've had their lives ruined" by the quest
for profit. 

After much success at Cannes, Moore premieres the movie Sunday in his first
appearance at the Venice Film Festival. It was warmly received at a press
showing Saturday evening and won positive reviews. Variety called it one of
Moore's "best pics." 

"I am personally affected by good people who struggle, who work hard and
who've had their lives ruined by decisions that are made by people who do
not have their best interest at heart, but who have the best interest of the
bottom line, of the company, at heart," Moore told reporters Sunday.
 
But Moore was not without his critics.  When asked by festival media about
the fact he has become a multi-millionare by the very same capitalist system
he criticizes in his film, Moore became evasive in his response.  This led
to some sharp criticism by those present at the premiere saying Moore's
personal success and his criticism of capitalism is contradictive.  As one
festival attendee said, "he (Moore) doesn't have a problem with everyone
spending their money to see his films to make him wealthy, but he criticizes
others in their attempt to make money.  It's a classic example of a double
standard."

The film features plenty of examples of lives shattered by corporate greed -
but also some inspiring tales of workers who have rebelled. According to
Moore, "the revolt you think I am calling for has actually begun. It began
Nov. 4," when President Barack Obama was elected. 

There is the Chicago glass and window company whose employees barricaded
themselves to demand their pay after management laid off all 250 employees
when the bank line of credit dried up. 

On the side of greed, Moore tells the story of a privately-run juvenile
detention center in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, that paid off judges to lock
up juvenile offenders. One boy said he had done little more than throw a
piece of meat at his mother's boyfriend during a fight at the dinner table,
and a teenage girl's offense was making fun of her school's vice principal
on a Myspace page. 

The film is filled with classic Moore gimmicks, like wrapping crime scene
tape around landmark banks and Wall Street institutions. And there is the
expected Moore grandstanding as he tries to make citizen arrests of bank
CEOs, not getting past the sometimes amused security guards at the main
entrance. By now, everyone sees him coming and knows who he is. 

Moore said he considered himself a proxy for the "millions of Americans who
would like to be placing crime scene tape around Wall Street." 

The filmmaker is optimistic that unimagined change can happen, citing the
unexpected fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and Nelson Mandela's election as
the president of South Africa after 27 years in prison for his
anti-apartheid activism. 

"There are many things that have happened in the last 20 years that are just
utterly surprising, so that I now believe anything can happen. People can
revolt in good ways." 

Moore said his expose on the health care system, "Sicko," helped trigger "a
national debate about why we are the only Western industrialized country
that does not have universal health care." 

While "Capitalism" has a strong political message, Moore said his main
purpose is to entertain with a film that "makes you laugh a little, or cry,
or think. I am happy with all those results. 

But he acknowledges that his mass appeal allows him to reach even
nonbelievers, a luxury enjoyed by few on the left. 

"I am going to use that position to try to communicate not just to the
church of the left but to the average, everyday American who wants to go see
a good movie, and maybe gets something out of it at the same time."

"Capitalism: A Love Story" is competing for the Golden Lion, which will be
awarded Sept. 12.