Monday 24 May 2010

Film Review: CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY (2009)


Director: Michael Moore
Running time: 127 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 12A

UK Release Date: 26th February 2010

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 23rd May 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

A documentary by Michael Moore can be an interesting experience. I have seen a few of his earlier films and they’re always controversial, but always interesting. This one tells how capitalism has been exploited by the rich few to get richer from the hard work of the many poor of America. It’s quite shocking to think that in this day and age there are people begging on city streets in a supposedly advanced society.

The documentary tells us the history of how the banks got people into positions of power in the U.S. government. And how they used that power to change the law in order to rip people off so they could foreclose on their properties. The sub-prime market was also talked about, and how, when this scheme blew up in their faces, they went to the government and got a bail-out fund. Quite despicable behaviour. There is a lot more covered in this film, but these are the main points.

I always find with Michael Moore films that he presents information that the viewer is expected to believe are facts without any supporting evidence. It shouldn’t be too difficult to get some supporting data, should it?

While I don’t always agree with Michael Moore’s point of view, he does ask some very probing questions. I guess his stunts are quite interesting as well. For instance, putting ‘Crime Scene’ tape around the big banks on Wall Street, or turning up in an armoured truck to collect the tax payers’ money from Goldman Sachs was pretty cool. This is a very interesting film that is worth seeing, but don’t always take Mr Moore’s facts as given, he’s just as liable to bend the figures as any banker.

My score: 6.2/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1232207/
Official Site: http://www.capitalismalovestory.co.uk/intl/uk/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi1594360345/

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