Longtime readers might recall that I was not a big fan of Fahrenheit 9/11. When it came out in 2004, I wrote,

My take on F9/11--thanks for asking--was that the movie is brilliant when it actually documents matters: civilian casualties in Iraq, the attitudes of American GIs there, the horrific costs paid by US soldiers, the anguish felt by relatives of dead Iraqi citizens and dead American GIs, and Bush's seven minutes of do-nothing silence after being informed a second airliner had crashed into the World Trade Center. But the film is problematic and self-defeating when it offers overly conspiratorial connect-the-dot explanations: Bush attacked Afghanistan to benefit cronies who wanted to develop a pipeline there; Bush invaded Iraq to preserve the power of his ruling class and feed the ever-hungry war machine; the Bush clan's too-tight relationship with the Saudis was to blame, somehow, for most things. But I noted [on an NPR show] that the film strongly--if briefly--made the case that the WMD argument for war had been a crock.

Last night, I attended the Washington premiere of Michael Moore's latest documentary, SiCKO. And I was moved by how fine a film it is. Funny, sad, poignant, angry. The movie is a stunning dissection of the health care industry. It does not reveal what most Americans don't already know. But the film--quite moving in some parts, quite funny in others--presents a well-crafted indictment and diagnosis of a sick, sick system.

After the end credits rolled, I saw Moore in the lobby of the theater. He said hello. I shot him a thumb's up. "It's a great piece of work," I said. "I can't think of anything negative to say." "Not even you," he replied with half a smile.

I had questioned elements of F9/11, and I'm aware of the complaints about Moore's fact-bending in his other films. But I could only gush about SiCKO. "Wonderful job," I said. We talked about how he had not yielded to pressure from Harvey Weinstein, the film's executive producer, to cut out a bit about how Senator Hillary Clinton has become a top recipient of health care industry political contributions. (Weinstein is a friend of hers.) Did that piss off the movie mogul? "What could he do?" Moore replied. "I'm me." I congratulated him once more and left him to other fans.

I've written a rave of the film here. But don't take my word for it. See it.

Posted by David Corn at June 21, 2007 02:17 PM