Where to Invade Next

Dir: Michael Moore

2016

****

Michael Moore's sixth major documentary feature, his first in six years, is something of a departure from his previous, somewhat aggressive approach, but is still strikingly effective and full of good natured humour. I'm a big fan of his and his way of thinking, although I often think he has a tendency to miss the odd trick now and again but the grassroots of what he is saying is always agreeable to me. This is gentile satire. In Where to Invade Next he travels to various different countries around the world (mainly in Europe) and explores the different ways their governments get things done. Upon hearing a good idea, Moore plants a flag and claims the idea on behalf of the United States of America. It is a political stunt that is quite typical of Moore but this time all meetings are pre-arranged and it is safe to say that in 2016 Moore's days of being kicked out of corporate lobbies are over. It's a refreshing change of pace quite frankly. Moore travels to Italy first to hear how employees have impressive labour rights, entitling them to almost eight weeks paid holiday a year and not at the expense of productivity. In France he finds that school lunches are like gourmet dinners and the healthy diet is beneficial to the kid's health and concentration and in Finland he discovers that shorter school days and no homework actually makes kids smarter. Slovenia has free education, even for foreign students and Germany teaches its kids about the Nazi's and raise the importance of one's own history, particularly the negative, so that it doesn't happen again. Portugal have decriminalized drugs to much success and, this surprised me, Tunisia's rather conservative Islamic government have legalized abortion.  Now, all these countries have their problems, the grass really isn't greener all the time but these really are the basics. The comparisons with America are fairly shocking in most cases, each subject going from one extreme to another. I find the criticism 'it’s a bit one sided' is often given to Moore's films, it's a tired way of thinking and it misses the point somewhat. Moore is simply saying, there is another way. He says that when he was a youth during the cold war, the idea that the Berlin wall would fall was fantasy, and yet in 1989 he and a friend helped the thousands of others knock it down. Many will avoid the film for its socialist views which is a shame. The 'S' word has become marred, dirty and above all misunderstood. People tend to think of breadlines and poverty when they think socialism, they're actually thinking of dictatorship, it is possible to live in comfort and peace as many people are doing around the world. Moore is showing the world that it can change but it is up to the people to do something about it, because it won't happen on its own. The film lost me somewhat when Moore travels to Norway to look at their prison system. The maximum anyone can serve is 21 years and most criminals, murders and rapists included, live in comfort. They see it as isolation and reform, and it does work for them but to be fair it is a relatively small country. I believe in welfare for all but I believe murders and rapists give up their freedom rights when they commit their crimes and life should mean life. Moore is clearly shocked by this and so he talks to the father of one of Anders Behring Breivik's victims. This is quite powerful scene, such as Moore is famous for. It's never pushed or milked either and is a very poignant conclusion to the film. Bad things will always happen, how we deal with it and how we go about preventing them is imperative. I'll be honest, I didn't always like Moore's delivery or persona in this film, I do wonder about his health, but to dismiss these simple social (not necessarily socialist) ideas would be foolish and narrow minded. It is time for a change, and if American's disagree that any of these crazy European ideas won’t work he reminds them that actually, all of them were thought up by Americans in the first place, anything is possible. Uplifting and sensible thinking, a welcome return.