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(Continued)
Saint Michael
The weekend's other big event was Michael Moore's return to Cannes -- his
first visit since his 2004 Palme d'Or win for "Fahrenheit 9/11" -- with his latest doc, "Sicko." The Coen Brothers and Moore films couldn't be more
different: "Sicko" is as confused but more angry about America than "No
Country for Old Men." In Moore's usual first-person, sarcastic, left-leaning and
self-promoting style, he takes a scathing look at America's health-care
system. Moore asked people to submit to his Web site stories about how
the system had let them down. By the end of that week, he had received tens of
thousands of messages. And for the first chunk of "Sicko," we meet these people
and Moore lets them tell their stories: The couple who had to sell their home
because they couldn't make their co-payments; the woman whose infant child died
in her arms, because the Kaiser insurance company wouldn't let another doctor
work on her; and several people who were insured but whose life-threatening
claims were denied (they all died before the end of the making of the movie).
And for a whole hour, Moore stays behind the camera! And then he decides to
visit other countries and explore their government-supported health systems. We
visit Canada and England and France (oh, how Moore panders to the French ... and
the crowd loved it), and through interviews with residents, doctors and
administrators, it's driven home that America has the worst health-care system
on the planet. And, yes, at the climax of the film, he takes a boatload of Sept.
11 rescue workers to Cuba, where they receive amazing medical attention (would
they have if a camera hadn't been there? Dunno). Moore offers solid
arguments throughout all of this, but he also neglects to investigate ANY of the
criticisms of social medicine. It's a no-brainer that our health system is a
joke, but Moore could have made a stronger argument with a bit more research.
But, hell, this is Michael Moore! He's not interested in arguments as much as
creating a revolution. And if this film can somehow create some type of anger to
spur change, I'm all for it. And I know I was manipulated, but it wasn't by
Moore (he'll never learn that his presence hurts his ideology) -- it was by the
interviewed Americans I saw and heard. For the first time after a Moore film, I
didn't feel anger at our government. I just felt shame.
More Movies
I saw other films last weekend, but I don't have space to review
all of them. So here are a few comments:
"Boarding Gate": Walked out. Olivier Assayas takes a major step backward after "Clean." Michael Madsen and Asia Argento as your two stars? Dude ...
"Triangle": Three great Hong Kong action directors -- Johnny
To, Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam -- teamed up for this fun thriller about three
drinking buddies who decide to steal a chest full of gold. It's a blast, wryly
comical, moves like a shark and, two days later, I can't tell you a single thing
about it.
"Magnus": An Estonian "Harold and Maude," except substitute Maude for the
death-loving kid's father. Magnus wants to die; Dad decides, through acid, coke,
hookers and other exciting means, to show the kid that life is worth living.
Doesn't work. The most powerful thing about this, however, is it's a true story
and Magnus' dad is played by the real father.
"Breath": I love me some Kim Ki-duk ("The Isle," "3-Iron," "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring"), but
he's starting to cover the same territory repeatedly. This is another odd tale
of screwed-up lovers (a wife who falls for a mute death-row inmate), silence and
death ... I dug it for the first six or seven films. This one left me
numb. The crowd seemed to like it, and it's screening in competition, so ...
Cannes Stories
Cannes of course isn't just about the movies ... here are some other things I
experienced or heard about this weekend:
Fish soup ... or U2? That was my quandary. I heard on Saturday night that the
Irish lads would be playing a free concert on the steps of the Palais around
midnight (to help promote the documentary "U2 3D"). I overheard this while
hanging out with three sexy Swedes at a Finnish party where a band, all members
wearing Orc-esque masks, called Lordi was going to perform. But that's another
story. Anyway, U2. So, I was hungry and I had to make the call: Watch U2 or grab
some amazing fish soup at La Pizza. If this were 1987, I would have joined the
mob on the Croisette. But it's not and the fish soup was great. I heard "Where
the Streets Had No Name" walking home and later learned they only played two
songs ("Vertigo" being the other). Chalk one up for the Kid!
Finally, at a press conference on Sunday morning, where a ton of big-name
directors gathered to discuss a collection of three-minute-long short
movies called "Chacun Son Cinema," Roman Polanski stood out. Or rather, he stood up
... and walked out. But not before chastising the press for asking stupid
questions. He should have attended the Coen Brothers lunch later that day. Oh,
and in other news, David Cronenberg apparently said cinema is dead and people
won't be going to the movies soon. Which begs the question: Why am I here?
Tuesday: Angelina Jolie hits town with "A Mighty Heart" and Gus Van Sant's latest, "Paranoid Park"
Dave McCoy is lead editor for MSN Movies. He'll be filing daily
dispatches from Cannes through May 28.
Will you see "No Country for Old Men"? "Sicko"? Do you like fish soup?
Write us at heymsn@microsoft.com
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