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The ''[[New Yorker]]'''s David Denby disagrees, writing: "After the early tales of the [U.S. Health Care] system's failure, “Sicko” becomes feeble, even inane."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2007/07/02/070702crci_cinema_denby | title=New Yorker review of 'Sicko'.|accessdate=2007-07-10}}</ref>. In a review published in both the ''[[The New Yorker]]'' and ''[[Reason Magazine]]'', Michael Moynihan calls the film "touching, naïve and maddeningly mendacious, a clumsy piece of agitprop that will likely have little lasting effect on the health care debate".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.reason.com/news/show/120998.html | publisher=Reason | title=Michael Moore's Shticko:His health care jeremiad won't win any converts | author=Michael Moynihan | work=reason.com | accessdate=2007-07-07}}</ref> Michael Phillips, who reviewed the film for the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', wrote, "You don't have to be a conservative to take issue with the way Moore apples-to-oranges so many economic comparisons in his movie, or the way he relies on the easy comment. 'Everywhere else, [people] seem to take care of each other,' Moore says late in the film. Everywhere else?"<ref>{{cite web | url=http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/movies/mmx-070629-movies-review-sicko,0,5559287.story?coll=mmx-movies_top_heds | title=Movie review: 'Sicko'. |author=Michael Phillips |accessdate=2007-07-10}}</ref>
The ''[[New Yorker]]'''s David Denby disagrees, writing: "After the early tales of the [U.S. Health Care] system's failure, “Sicko” becomes feeble, even inane."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2007/07/02/070702crci_cinema_denby | title=New Yorker review of 'Sicko'.|accessdate=2007-07-10}}</ref>. In a review published in both the ''[[The New Yorker]]'' and ''[[Reason Magazine]]'', Michael Moynihan calls the film "touching, naïve and maddeningly mendacious, a clumsy piece of agitprop that will likely have little lasting effect on the health care debate".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.reason.com/news/show/120998.html | publisher=Reason | title=Michael Moore's Shticko:His health care jeremiad won't win any converts | author=Michael Moynihan | work=reason.com | accessdate=2007-07-07}}</ref> Michael Phillips, who reviewed the film for the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', wrote, "You don't have to be a conservative to take issue with the way Moore apples-to-oranges so many economic comparisons in his movie, or the way he relies on the easy comment. 'Everywhere else, [people] seem to take care of each other,' Moore says late in the film. Everywhere else?"<ref>{{cite web | url=http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/movies/mmx-070629-movies-review-sicko,0,5559287.story?coll=mmx-movies_top_heds | title=Movie review: 'Sicko'. |author=Michael Phillips |accessdate=2007-07-10}}</ref>

The film has been criticized extensively for not discussing the drawbacks of universal health care in Canada, Britain, France and Cuba, thus presenting a one-sided argument. <ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070619/news_lz1e19weintr.html</ref>
<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19361022/site/newsweek/</ref> <ref>http://www.thestar.com/article/215801</ref> <ref>http://www.thestar.com/article/230677</ref> <ref>http://american.com/archive/2007/june-0607/2018sicko2019-sniffles</ref> <ref>http://cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8336</ref> <ref>http://www.reason.com/news/show/120998.html</ref> <ref>http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YTEyNzA4YmY4Nzk4MTEzOTYyOGM1M2FlOWY3ZGVhM2M=</ref> <ref>http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Nzk1NzNjZDVjYzQ5MzU0YTZjYzNjZmVkMzcyMjJmOTQ=</ref> <ref>http://www.weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=13815&r=ttkbx</ref> <ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/28/AR2007062802280.html</ref> <ref>http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_28/b4042070.htm</ref> <ref>http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/?id=110010266</ref> <ref>http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1563758/story.jhtml</ref>


Over the course of July, 2007, Moore had frequent appearances on CNN. On Wolf Blitzer's [[The Situation Room]], he criticized [[CNN]] senior medical correspondent [[Sanjay Gupta]] for allegedly misrepresenting aspects of his film in a fact-checking segment broadcast as the lead-in to his interview. "He said the facts were fudged," said Moore, referring to Gupta, on CNN's ''[[Larry King Live]]''. "That's a lie. None of the facts are fudged." Gupta said that he agreed with Moore on his premise that the U.S. healthcare system is "broken", but questioned Moore's "cherry-picking" of facts. <ref>http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/10/gupta.sicko/index.html</ref> Moore ultimately responded to CNN by fact-checking Gupta's piece and publishing the results on his homepage. <ref>[http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/news/article.php?id=10017 Setting CNN Straight (Round I)] July 10, 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/news/article.php?id=10026 Setting CNN Straight (Round II)] July 11, 2007</ref>
Over the course of July, 2007, Moore had frequent appearances on CNN. On Wolf Blitzer's [[The Situation Room]], he criticized [[CNN]] senior medical correspondent [[Sanjay Gupta]] for allegedly misrepresenting aspects of his film in a fact-checking segment broadcast as the lead-in to his interview. "He said the facts were fudged," said Moore, referring to Gupta, on CNN's ''[[Larry King Live]]''. "That's a lie. None of the facts are fudged." Gupta said that he agreed with Moore on his premise that the U.S. healthcare system is "broken", but questioned Moore's "cherry-picking" of facts. <ref>http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/10/gupta.sicko/index.html</ref> Moore ultimately responded to CNN by fact-checking Gupta's piece and publishing the results on his homepage. <ref>[http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/news/article.php?id=10017 Setting CNN Straight (Round I)] July 10, 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/news/article.php?id=10026 Setting CNN Straight (Round II)] July 11, 2007</ref>

Revision as of 01:42, 15 July 2007

Sicko
Sicko theatrical poster
Directed byMichael Moore
Written byMichael Moore
Produced byMichael Moore
StarringMichael Moore
Distributed byThe Weinstein Company
Lionsgate (theatrical)
Release dates
United States June 29, 2007
LanguagesEnglish, French, Spanish
For other uses, see Sicko.

SiCKO is a documentary film by director Michael Moore, released in the United States and Canada on June 29 2007.[1] It investigates the United States health care system with a focus on for-profit health insurance and the pharmaceutical industry. The film contrasts the U.S. system with Canadian and American health care systems compared to Canada's single-payer system and other universal health care systems, including those in France, the United Kingdom and Cuba. The film has been criticized for not discussing the drawbacks of universal health care in these countries.[2][3]

Sicko premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival on May 19 2007. It also had an early premiere in Washington D.C. the week before its North American release.

Synopsis

Sicko deals with the problems that Moore perceives in the American for-profit health insurance and pharmaceutical industries. Its main message is that publicly-funded health care is a better all-round model than the present U.S. health-care system because the present system is designed to maximize profit by minimizing the care delivered to patients.

At one point in the film Moore cites a World Health Organization report: "And the United States slipped to 37 in health care around the world, just slightly ahead of Slovenia."[4]

The movie begins with the retelling of the stories of people who were denied health care, either because they did not have health insurance or because the insurance companies denied their request for coverage for a particular ailment, due to specious reasons. Some repentant former employees of insurance companies are also interviewed, and describe dubious practices of their former employers, such as considering the best doctor in their employ to be the one who could deny the most treatments.

The movie also describes the connection between lobby groups such as PhRMA, the lobbying arm of the largest drug companies in the United States and one of the most influential lobbying groups in Washington D.C.[5][improper synthesis?] and Congressional politicians. Moore says that Hillary Clinton, who once championed the Clinton health care plan, is the Senate's second-highest recipient of campaign donations from the health care industry. Moore said that Clinton's friend Harvey Weinstein, whose company provided financing for the film, asked him to remove the scene but Moore refused.[6]

Moore states that the United States is the only industrialized nation that does not offer free basic health care to all of its citizens, and compares the American system to those of Canada, the United Kingdom and France, which have universal health care for their citizens.

Moore then interviews those who volunteered as rescue workers after the World Trade Center September 11, 2001 attacks; these volunteers had subsequently developed physical and psychological maladies, including respiratory disease and PTSD, and were denied government funds to care for their ailments. Since the U.S. government has touted the medical care provided for the alleged enemy combatants detained at the U.S. Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, Moore assembles the 9/11 rescue workers and one of the people seen earlier in the movie, and any others who need medical care that they cannot get in the U.S. They sail from Miami for Cuba on three speedboats. After a journey that is mostly not shown (due to "prohibition by Homeland Security laws"), the group arrives at the entrance channel to Gitmo. Moore asks for access with a megaphone, pleading for treatment for 9/11 heroes that equals the treatment the "evildoers" are getting, but no response is given. Moore finally gives up when a siren is blown from the base. The group then moves on to Havana, where they can buy medicine for very cheap price and receives free medical treatment they would otherwise not be able to afford.[7] The volunteers are hospitalized there and receive treatment, having only to provide their names and birth date. Moore asked the doctors to provide them only the same level of care they would give to Cuban citizens.

In the film's finale, Moore provides an example of "taking care of each other, no matter the differences". When he found out that the biggest anti-Moore website, MooreWatch, would have to close because its webmaster Jim Kenefick needed the money to pay for his wife's medical treatment, he sent a cheque for US $12,000 anonymously. Moore says that he does not want the health care system to trump the first amendment. The audience is shown a "thank you" letter posted by the host, calling Moore his "Guardian Angel" (written while he was still unaware of Moore being the donor), while continuing to criticize Moore on his website. Since finding out that the anonymous donation would be shown in the movie, Kenefick has responded on his website,[8] criticising Moore for sending an anonymous cheque but then including it in his movie, saying Moore was "using" him.

Release

On May 19, 2007 more than 2,000 people applauded loudly after the film's first Cannes screening at the packed Grand Theatre Lumiere, the main festival auditorium.[9]

The North American premiere of Sicko was held in London, Ontario at the Silver City movie theatre at Masonville Place on June 8 2007, with Moore himself in attendance. Sicko features patients from the London, Ontario area.

Reception

Critical response

Sicko at the Cannes Film Festival receiving a standing ovation

The movie has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from film critics, including a 91% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Following early viewings at the Cannes Film Festival, Variety described Sicko as "an affecting and entertaining dissection of the American health care industry",[10] concluding it should play well internationally. Moore has nonetheless been quoted as saying, "I know the storm awaits me back in the United States."[11]

In an early review a week before the premiere, Richard Roeper and Michael Phillips (the latter filling in for Roger Ebert) gave Moore's film two thumbs up.

Roger Friedman of Fox News called the film a "brilliant and uplifting new documentary" and praised Moore for the way in which he lets "very articulate average Americans tell their personal horror stories at the hands of insurance companies" and "criticizes both Democrats and Republicans for their inaction and in some cases their willingness to be bribed by pharmaceutical companies and insurance carriers."[12]

British film magazine Empire commented that "Sicko is the film that truly reveals Moore as an auteur."[13]

The New Yorker's David Denby disagrees, writing: "After the early tales of the [U.S. Health Care] system's failure, “Sicko” becomes feeble, even inane."[14]. In a review published in both the The New Yorker and Reason Magazine, Michael Moynihan calls the film "touching, naïve and maddeningly mendacious, a clumsy piece of agitprop that will likely have little lasting effect on the health care debate".[15] Michael Phillips, who reviewed the film for the Chicago Tribune, wrote, "You don't have to be a conservative to take issue with the way Moore apples-to-oranges so many economic comparisons in his movie, or the way he relies on the easy comment. 'Everywhere else, [people] seem to take care of each other,' Moore says late in the film. Everywhere else?"[16]

The film has been criticized extensively for not discussing the drawbacks of universal health care in Canada, Britain, France and Cuba, thus presenting a one-sided argument. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30]

Over the course of July, 2007, Moore had frequent appearances on CNN. On Wolf Blitzer's The Situation Room, he criticized CNN senior medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta for allegedly misrepresenting aspects of his film in a fact-checking segment broadcast as the lead-in to his interview. "He said the facts were fudged," said Moore, referring to Gupta, on CNN's Larry King Live. "That's a lie. None of the facts are fudged." Gupta said that he agreed with Moore on his premise that the U.S. healthcare system is "broken", but questioned Moore's "cherry-picking" of facts. [31] Moore ultimately responded to CNN by fact-checking Gupta's piece and publishing the results on his homepage. [32][33]

Box office

Sicko made $4.5 million on its opening weekend.[34] In only 441 theaters, it took in an average of $10,204 per theater, the second highest average gross of the weekend.

As of July 9, Sicko has grossed $11.5 million in the United States, which already makes it the eighth-highest grossing documentary of all time.[35]

Piracy

Wikinews has related news:

Although the film was released on June 29 2007, a copy was leaked onto the Internet in early to mid June 2007.[36] Moore, who previously stated his support for Internet downloading, denies leaking the video himself and an investigation has been held as to the source of the Internet leak.[37] When asked about the leak, Moore said:

I'm just happy that people get to see my movies...I'm not a big supporter of copyright laws in this country...I don't understand filmmakers...who oppose sharing, having their work being shared by people, because it only increases your fanbase...I've always been happy in the past when teenagers have downloaded pirated copies of my movies...They've been downloading them and they've been sharing them, and I think that's great.[38]

Treasury Department probe

In a May 2, 2007 letter, the Office of Foreign Assets Control informed Moore that he was the subject of a civil investigation stemming from the filmmaker's March trip to Cuba. In the letter to Moore, a Treasury official noted that the department had no record of Moore obtaining a license that authorized him to "engage in travel-related transactions involving Cuba," alleging that Moore violated the United States embargo against Cuba.[39][40] A duplicate master copy of the film is being held in Canada in case American authorities attempt to seize the film as part of the criminal investigation against Moore that arose from taking American 9/11 rescue workers to Cuba for medical treatment.[41] Moore has said that if any trip to Cuba is for journalism reasons, the U.S. allows it. He also added that SiCKO is a non-fiction film and for journalism. Moore states that his intentions were to travel to the US Naval base in Guantanamo Bay. Upon Moore's arrival to Guantanamo Bay a siren was sounded and Moore decided to turn around for safety.

Responses to film

WBAI Radio, part of the Pacifica Radio Network, reported that Sicko was revitalizing the debate for universal health care within the United States, calling the film "adrenaline for healthcare activists". It named individuals and entities ranging from U.S. Congressman John Conyers, Jr., to the California Nurses Association. It reported that the latter "began traveling the country to leaflet moviegoers as SiCKO opens in theaters to support a 'single-payer' health care system." Additionally, Michael Moore, who was interviewed, reported that he had tried to enter the New York Stock Exchange to advocate for stockholder divestiture from health insurance companies but was prevented from entering. Moore called his film his most "subversive" film to date, saying it was his strongest critique yet about the economic system of the U.S.[42]

Health care industry professionals are responding to depictions of their organizations. In a letter to the Wall Street Journal, Robert S. Bell, M.D., President and CEO of University Health Network, Toronto, said that while Moore "exaggerated the performance of the Canadian health system," it provides universal coverage of a similar quality to that enjoyed by only some Americans. [43] Michael Moore posted a leaked memo from a Blue Cross employee about the likely consequences of the film. The memo expresses concern that the movie misleadingly turns people against Blue Cross by linking it to abuses by for-profit HMO's. [44]


See also

References

  1. ^ "An Update from Michael Moore (and an invitation to his film festival)". www.michaelmoore.com. Retrieved 2006-09-05.
  2. ^ http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070619/news_lz1e19weintr.html
  3. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19361022/site/newsweek/
  4. ^ [1]Masters, Kim, article/news segment titled "Michael Moore's 'Sicko' Flogs U.S. Health Care", Web site of National Public Radio, dated June 20 2007, accessed June 24 2007
  5. ^ Drug Firms Gain Church Group's Aid; Claim About Import Measure Stirs Anger, Jim VandeHei and Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post, July 23, 2003
  6. ^ “Moore Says Weinstein Wanted Clinton Scene Cut”, Washington Post, Accessed June 26, 2007.
  7. ^ "Moore unveils Sicko at Cannes". InTheNews.co.uk. 2007-05-14. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  8. ^ Kenefick, Jim (06-12), Jim Kenefick and Moorewatch as presented by Michael Moore in Sicko, retrieved 2007-07-12 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  9. ^ "Michael Moore's Sicko gets audience thumbs-up at Cannes". CBC Arts. CBC. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
  10. ^ Alissa Simon. "Review: Sicko". Variety. Reed. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
  11. ^ Andrew O'Hehir. "Sicko". salon.com. Salon. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
  12. ^ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,273875,00.html
  13. ^ "No Country For Old Men and Sicko". Empire. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
  14. ^ "New Yorker review of 'Sicko'". Retrieved 2007-07-10.
  15. ^ Michael Moynihan. "Michael Moore's Shticko:His health care jeremiad won't win any converts". reason.com. Reason. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
  16. ^ Michael Phillips. "Movie review: 'Sicko'". Retrieved 2007-07-10.
  17. ^ http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070619/news_lz1e19weintr.html
  18. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19361022/site/newsweek/
  19. ^ http://www.thestar.com/article/215801
  20. ^ http://www.thestar.com/article/230677
  21. ^ http://american.com/archive/2007/june-0607/2018sicko2019-sniffles
  22. ^ http://cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8336
  23. ^ http://www.reason.com/news/show/120998.html
  24. ^ http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YTEyNzA4YmY4Nzk4MTEzOTYyOGM1M2FlOWY3ZGVhM2M=
  25. ^ http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Nzk1NzNjZDVjYzQ5MzU0YTZjYzNjZmVkMzcyMjJmOTQ=
  26. ^ http://www.weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=13815&r=ttkbx
  27. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/28/AR2007062802280.html
  28. ^ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_28/b4042070.htm
  29. ^ http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/?id=110010266
  30. ^ http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1563758/story.jhtml
  31. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/10/gupta.sicko/index.html
  32. ^ Setting CNN Straight (Round I) July 10, 2007
  33. ^ Setting CNN Straight (Round II) July 11, 2007
  34. ^ "'Ratatouille' Swarms Weekend Box Office". FOXNews.com. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  35. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=documentary.htm
  36. ^ Goldstein, Gregg (2007-06-18). "Pirated "Sicko" surfaces on YouTube". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  37. ^ Gregg Goldstein. 'Sicko' leaks have studios crying malpractice. June 19, 2007.
  38. ^ MTV.com, Michael Moore Brushes Off 'Sicko' Leak, retrieved 2007-07-12
  39. ^ "Uncle Sam Probes Michael Moore (Treasury Department investigating director's unauthorized Cuba trip)". thesmokinggun.com. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  40. ^ "Michael Moore In Trouble For Cuba Trip (Treasury Investigation; Moore Took Sept. 11 Workers To Banned Island For Treatment)". www.michaelmoore.com. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
  41. ^ "Moore fears film seizure after Cuba trip". www.reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  42. ^ ""SICKO": Damn Those Insurance Companies, Where The Heck Are They When You're Sick?"". WBAI Radio, New York. Retrieved 2007-07-08.. Audio available at http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=23784.
  43. ^ "Canadian and U.S. Health Services -- Let's Compare the Two," Letters, Wall Street Journal, July 9, 2007; Page A13
  44. ^ LEAKED INTERNAL MEMO; 'SiCKO' Has Capital BlueCross Exec Scrambling to Respond. July 6th, 2007.
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