su·per·cil·i·ous·ness

Website: capitalismalovestory.com
Director: Michael Moore
Lead: Michael Moore
Co-Star: Marcy Kaptur
Genre: Documentary/Drama 
Runtime: 127mins 
Rating: M
Stars: ★★★★

I am now a big fan of Ohio Democrat congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. Her speeches to Congress on the growing power of Wall St are great fun and among the highlights for me in this new documentary by Michael Moore. Now Moore would never be accused of being a balanced documentary maker - all his films are firmly entrenched in his own bias, and as a socialist from way back it was clear where he would be going with this film. Indeed, Capitalism: A Love Story spins many pro-socialist viewpoints - but as a casual observer from a country which is far more 'socialist' than the US - none of his propositions seem all that radical at all. 

The other strong voice in this film is FDR, who just before he died in the 1940s, called for a Second Bill of Rights for Americans. His proposed bill would guarantee rights to homes, jobs, education and heathcare. All things that Moore highlights that the majority of Americans do not have access to these days. 

Moore's basic argument is that while free enterprise and capitalism are good things in some settings - they ultimately reward greed and in the US this means that the richest 1 per cent of Americans hold more money than the bottom 95 per cent combined. Indeed the top 1% are so wealthy, that Wall Street essentially has been turned into a giant casino so that they can gamble with all the money that they have made off the rest of us. 

As with most of Moore's films - shame is his biggest tool here. Trips to the big banks to ask them to pay back the bailout money, filming the workers who are conducting a sit in to get their entitlements paid by the Bank of America from their $25bn in bailout cash and revelations about dead peasant insurance where companies take out life insurance policies on their employees so they can profit from any deaths. The other big expose is around just how noone knows what a derivative is - and how they are essentially just gambling instruments. 

Back to my new found love of Marcy Kaptur. I love her advice that if your bank forecloses - don't move out and demand that they produce a copy of your mortgage. In the mess that is US finance with mortgages being traded all over the place - there is a chance they won't be able to. You might just be saved. We also learn more about the predatory tactics and the way that the finance system has destroyed neighbourhoods and indeed whole towns - with people being turfed out of their homes impacting on the rest of the community in a downward spiral. 

This is well worth checking out - especially if you are a classic lefty - along with all of Moore's other films you will absolutely enjoy it. I even had a moment of tears - as I welled up with emotion of people coming out to support the workers in the sit in in Chicago with offers of food and donations. This is a side of the US to admire (one of the few). 

IMDb