2007, USA
Documentary, Drama
Michael Moore’s at it again, messing in subjects he shouldn’t touch. Or rather, shouldn’t have to.
In SiCKO, Moore attacks the business of American medicine. In so many countries, health care is built into the system -- the people need it, and their government provides it. In the United States, insurance companies reward their employees for denying service -- less money out means more money in. The insured are left with a bill for thousands of dollars, leaving some deep in debt or bankrupt.
It is hard to dismiss Moore’s claims. Who hasn’t known someone affected by a horrendous medical bill? He does not offer a quickie solution or even a soothing salve. As per his usual M.O.D., he prefers to rile up the blood. The film begins with a barrage of ridiculous denials for American patients, ranging from saving the least expensive finger to death from lack of treatment. Not only are patients interviewed but the insurance processors laden with guilt from being part of the problem.
The stories are accompanied by Moore’s customary sardonic narration, purposely overly dramatic music and mock informational filmstrips from the 50s. He delivers what we already know: our health care is run by a shoddy, money-hungry system that rewards those in power. His sucker punch comes from a review of three countries with far superior service.
Canadians revere the memory of Tommy Douglas, the Premier of Saskatchewan who introduced universal public medicare to the country. France is practically heaven on earth for families, complete with plenty of paid leave, free house calls and free nannies.
In Great Britain, Moore scours a hospital for a bill only to receive laughs. Retired Parliament member Tony Benn notes about post-World War II Britain, “If you can find money to kill people, you can find money to help people,” which seems horribly appropriate to the present situation in the United States. Remarkably, Moore stays focused (he addressed that topic in his last film, after all) and allows Benn’s statement to speak for itself.
The knock out comes from what is usually the favorite weapon of Conservatives: September 11. Moore finds patients who have been physically and mentally traumatized from assisting in the rescue mission and takes them to the one American site with universal health care: Guantanamo Bay. Sure, Moore milks it by yelling for help via a megaphone outside the gates. But when the rescuers come ashore to seek help and comfort from Cuban physicians, it is one of the most genuinely touching scenes of the film.
Some of the moments are over-the-top, such as a “sassy” Hillary Clinton montage concerning her health care reform fight (before she sold out). Moore fails to go into detail about taxation that pays for this luxury in the perfect countries, aside from showing that they can still live comfortably. But no matter how you slice it and despite whether he glosses over some of the nitty gritty, it is obvious that Americans could use an upgrade.