Saturday, November 7, 2009

Capitalism: A Love Story


In the twenty years since his first documentary, Roger & Me (1989), Michael Moore’s fervour to defend the little man has not diminished. Returning to the domain of corporate greed, Capitalism: A Love Story highlights Moore’s ability to entertain, inform and preach.

This documentary affirms Moore’s continuing disgust at the state of the USA’s economic institutions, and the players who manipulate them. Love him or hate him, Moore is a genre of documentary unto himself. You can’t walk into the cinema and not know what is coming - Moore is surely the most recognisable face and voice in modern documentary making.

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Taking the stance that Capitalism (in its current incarnation) and Democracy are incompatible bedfellows, Moore uses his standard formula of filmmaking to weave a narrative of the excesses of corporate America. His point is pretty firmly made when during the filming (which started in 2008), the economic crisis firmly kicks into gear and the full horror of the sub-prime mortgage system is exposed. Using humour, personal accounts of suffering, localised examples of greed and stupidity and of course stunts, the documentary covers varied facets of Capitalism.

click here to read my full review at Trespass