Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) * * * 1/2

Directed by: Michael Moore

Time has an interesting way of allowing you to see the forest for the trees. I saw this Michael Moore film back in 2004 and it didn't sit well with me then. I felt at the time that Moore was "throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what would stick" in terms of his subject, President George W. Bush.  (I think that's a quote from my original review)   Because of that, I didn't think Fahrenheit 9/11 was an effective documentary. I felt that the film was too much unproven conjecture and coincidences. He hated his subject so much that it crippled the film's effectiveness, or at least I thought so at the time.

I watched it again and anger was the overriding emotion in me. Anger not only at Bush and his staff, but also at the Americans who voted for him again in 2004, and at myself for my naivete that a President couldn't commit actions we condemn dictators for. Bush and company flat out lied about the reasons we invaded Iraq, thousands of soldiers and civilians needlessly died, and only recently did the U.S. decide to leave Iraq. (And it took a different President to do this).

At the beginning of the Iraq invasion, I admit that I was for it, even though I didn't like Bush and didn't vote for him. I was naively convinced that a President wouldn't be so reckless with the lives of others for the financial gain of his friends and his family.    I couldn't have been more wrong.

Fahrenheit 9/11 examines the idea that Bush's presidency was really just one big payback for favors he owed to friends who backed him on his failed companies. His actions as President were directly influenced by the money Saudis and other companies put in his coffers. Halliburton's contract in Iraq was a result of Dick Cheney's ties with the company. Meanwhile, in the film's most grueling and eye-opening scenes, soldiers suffered and died because of this. I was especially moved by the plight of Lila Lipscomb, a Flint, Michigan native who at first supported her son fighting the Iraq War because she believed it to be just. It's heartbreaking what happens after her son is killed in action and her beliefs are crushed around her.

As a film, Fahrenheit 9/11 simply worked much better for me this time around. I suppose time had a big impact on that, but also I have to think that since this film, Bush oversaw a war that sucked our economy dry and presided over the start of a terrible economic crisis. It's amazing to think that President Obama is under such scrutiny for not being able to clean up this mess "fast enough" and may only be a one-term President as a result. If Bush can be a two-term President, anyone should and can be. "Mess" may not be a strong enough word to describe the impact that Bush's eight years in office has had on this nation.

Michael Moore's approach in this film is different than in previous films. He is more somber and thoughtful, mostly because the stakes were and still are so high. Bush's callous actions started right when the 2000 election ended so controversially. It seemed that he continually upped the ante with each action after that. First, Afghanistan, then Iraq, then the domestic troubles.

I know this is supposed to be a film review, but Michael Moore has a unique effect on me and many others. His films allow you to not only examine the film's entertainment value, but the strength of its message. Moore's films are for analysis of the subject in detail. He hopes you dig like he does and come up with a correct conclusion. Six years ago, my conclusion was incorrect. Now, it is much different.