Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) [Review]

Summary:
Michael Moore made himself a name with documentaries that are as entertaining as they are polemical (Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11). Capitalism: A Love Story makes no exception. In this [...]

Michael Moore made himself a name with documentaries that are as entertaining as they are polemical (Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11). Capitalism: A Love Story makes no exception. In this film not the bank robbers are evil but the banks. And the biggest evil of all is the system of capitalism, according to Moore. „Capitalism is a system of taking and giving. Mostly giving.“ he explains. To prove his point, Moore uses some disturbing footage – for example a video that shows how a family is forced out of their house because they couldn’t afford the payments anymore. The economical crisis turned the american dream of owning a home into a nightmare.

This doesn’t mean that Capitalism is a depressing film – for most of it’s running time it is quite funny, for example when Moore compares the USA to old decadent Rome, using footage of old Hollywood movies. In another scene he tries to enter the headquarters of General Motors (in his film Roger & Me from 1989 showed how jobs got lost because production facilities were moved to countries in which production cost less)but gets thrown out immediately.

„What the fuck happened?“, asks Moore and answers himself: Tax relief for the rich under the presidency of Ronald Reagan. While the big companies got richer and richer, the salaries of the working class stayed the same – while life became more expensive. Moore’s solution to all of this is more democracy. He shows how a factory isn’t closed because the workers refuse to leave.

The film has it’s weaknesses – often there is too much talk going nowhere, some statistics are questionable (as always in his films) and sometimes the camera shows crying people too often. This is not a subtle film, but on the other hand, that’s nothing you would expect from Moore. He uses the sledge hammer to make his point. And he has a point. All in all, Capitalism asks the right questions and shows a financial system out of control.

documentary.net says: Not perfect, but provocative and entertaining.

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