Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

Revew:

“Capitalism: A Love Story” is the latest installment in Michael Moore’s ongoing populist critiques of America as it stands today. I’ll admit outright that I usually agree with the points that Moore is making in his films but I also must acknowledge I realize his films walk a fine line between documentary and propaganda.

In “Capitalism,” Moore goes after the hot topic of our nation’s Economy and its current downward inclinations. He explores how the drive to maximize profits is a universal trend in corporate America and how that maximization often comes at the expense of the American public.

There is no doubt that money causes people to do outlandish and selfish things, be it on personal or global scales. Moore goes into some disturbing case studies including a privatized juvenile correction facility where a judge would receive payments for every child he sent to the facility. This of course led to many high schoolers having months of their lives taken away and have their records forever tarnished, all for the sake of a judge’s monetary gain.

Moore also emphasizes the most recent financial crisis. In some humorous moments he tries to have experts explain the housing bubble and the precarious financial maneuverings that caused it. No one is successful with a succinct explanation.
I must admit, I agree with the message of this film but I think Moore bites off more than he can chew here. I think he ran into a similar problem with his “Fahrenheit 9/11” (2004). There’s so much to cover that the film inherently becomes a little jumbled and tangential. Its not that what he’s saying doesn’t make sense, its just that his case studies in capitalism are so disparate, its hard to take away anything more than “Greed = Bad.”

His more successful films like “Sicko” (2007) and “Bowling for Columbine” (2002) each pick up one hot issue (healthcare and gun control, respectively) and explore it in focused detail. “Capitalism” tries to do this too, but the problem here is that the issue of capitalism really serves as an umbrella for a vast stew of issues. “Capitalism” is good, but its no powerhouse for economic reform.

Rating:

On a scale of one to ‘Casablanca’ this film is a “Horton Hears a Who” (2008)

Rationalization:

I enjoyed it enough to say that I’d sit through this film again. I think it says a lot of informative, important things. But with most documentaries like this I look for a good thesis. That capitalism begets financial evils is not news to me. Some of the specific cases are astonishing, I’ll admit. But when Moore is pointing his fingers everywhere, I tend to just lose sight of why he’s pointing fingers at all.

The Son (2002)

Review:

Jean Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne's film "The Son" resonates louder in my heart and percolates in my mind the more I reflect upon it. It is at once a film that is completely mundane and deeply spiritual. I can't help but wish more people would see it or have the patience to sit through it. "The Son" does not make any direct assertions about its characters or their motivations. It trusts its audience to understand the underlying complexity of its story and realize when expectations have been derailed.

"The Son" is like a parable - told with simplicity but conceived with great meaning. It is the story of Olivier (Olivier Gourmet), a carpenter who teaches at a vocational school for boys. Olivier is a sedate man. You can sense his deep longing and isolation. But it is clear Olivier is a master carpenter and teaches it well, caring deeply for the craft and for his students.

When Francis (Morgan Marinne), a troubled teenage youth recently released from a reformatory institution, is brought to Olivier to become an apprentice Olivier explains he already has too many apprentices. He suggests the boy be taken to the welding shop. Despite this rejection, it is clear from Olivier’s actions after his first meeting with Francis that he has a keen interest in the boy.

Later that day Olivier’s ex wife (Isabella Soupart) comes to tell Olivier she is getting remarried. Their relationship seems uncomplicated but restrained; mature but sad. We don’t ever really learn the specifics of their divorce, but we do learn the catalyst of their separation, which I will not comment upon in this review. Soon after learning of his wife’s new marriage, Olivier changes his mind and decides to take on Francis after all.

That is the setup for the film. More, I will not elucidate upon. I will leave it for you to discover what’s going on with Olivier. But I will say what I think this film is about. It’s about forgiveness - deep forgiveness. Most films treat forgiveness as a mechanism for closure when in reality it’s hardly ever that. Forgiveness is not a simple action with definite parameters; it is a long, illogical process, more often encapsulated by an unconscious decision than a dramatic reconciliation.

I loved “The Son” because it explores the full breadth of forgiveness. It’s the most complicated film about forgiveness I have seen since Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988) and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Olivier being a carpenter wasn’t an accident.


Rating:

On a scale of one to ‘Casablanca’ this film is a “Hiroshima Mon Amour” (1959)

Rationalization:

To create simple art that maintains great depth is a feat few artists can achieve. Many great movies have a tendency towards verbose scripts and elaborate camera work. There is nothing wrong with this, in fact I would like if if there were more movies that have the voluptuous quality of some Woody Allen or Kubrick films, but sometimes a film like “The Son” just hits you so hard that you wonder why anything as elaborate as a crane shot or CGI are necessary at all in movies.