's 'Sicko' Flogs U.S. Health Care

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Movies

's 'Sicko' Flogs U.S. Health Care

by Kim Masters

Morning Edition, June 20, 2007 · Director , whose

upcoming film Sicko, attacks the American health care system, is

scheduled to hold a news conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday. While

Sicko does not open in most theaters until next week, it has already

generated considerable attention.

A visit to Cuba to shoot part of the film may have violated a U.S.

trade embargo; the Treasury Department is investigating. has

made a lot of noise in the media over the probe, saying he has stashed

a copy of the film in Canada for fear it will be seized in the United

States.

Some of that is due to 's knack for promotion. But he is also

known for putting his finger on the public's pulse in such films as

and Me and Bowling for Columbine. To some, he's a kind of folk

hero; others accuse him of manipulating the facts.

On a recent hot June afternoon, preached to the choir in

Sacramento, Calif.

First, he attended a legislative briefing in the Capitol building,

cheered on by a crowd of health care workers. Then, he addressed a

rally sponsored by the California Nurses Association.

Rose Ann DeMoro is executive director of the California Nurses

Association. When her group held a rally at in Sacramento a few weeks

ago, the local media covered a frog-jumping contest instead. ,

she said, " brings light " to the health care issue.

Sicko paints a sobering picture of health care in America. It shows

sick patients being dumped on skid row in Los Angeles; an accident

victim who has to choose which finger to have reattached since he

can't afford to pay for both. Some of the worst stories involve those

who have insurance but are denied coverage, or are overwhelmed by high

deductibles. In his film, said the consequences are undeniable.

" And the United States slipped to 37 in health care around the world,

just slightly ahead of Slovenia, " said.

In an interview the day before the Sacramento rally, said he has

usually been ahead of the times. But this is different.

" All the polls show that it's the number one domestic issue — and it

will be in the upcoming election, " he said. " So maybe this time I will

have synced myself up on the same place where the American public is at. "

Actually, independent polls, including one by Gallup, indicate that

health care is not the number one issue, but it does rank high on the

list. is hoping Sicko will focus the looming election.

Certainly, some in the industry are concerned. The Pharmaceutical

Research and Manufacturers of America issued a statement denouncing

's film, sight unseen. A spokesman declined our interview request.

has been controversial from the time he made & Me, his

1989 movie about the ravaging effects of General Motors layoffs on

's hometown of Flint, Michigan. The film revolved around 's

pursuit of GM's chief executive at the time.

" My mission was a simple one: to convince to spend a day

with me in Flint and meet some of the people who were losing their

jobs, " said in the film.

Instantly, critics attacked for fudging facts to strengthen his

case, or to make & Me funnier. Film Comment magazine cited

several examples, including a sequence in which displaced workers met

in a pizza parlor with Reagan — then a presidential candidate —

although that point wasn't made clear.

" None of Reagan's luncheon guests got back into the factory in the

ensuing years, " narrated. " And the only bright spot to come out

to the affair was the individual who 'borrowed' the restaurant's cash

register on the way out of the door. "

Actually, the cash register had been stolen a day or so before

Reagan's visit. attributes the discrepancy to a misstatement by

the restaurant's owner. But such glitches prompted ine Kael, the

late New Yorker film critic, to label the film " a piece of Gonzo

demagoguery. "

Kael made out to be a precursor to Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat:

Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of

Kazakhstan, exploiting dupes to make his point.

" She was just mad at me, " said.

said that when the film came out, Kael wanted a copy to watch at

her home. But he insisted she attend a regular screening.

" Listen to me, you know, Mr. Guy from Flint making a hundred bucks a

week. And I'm going, 'No, I don't care who she is, writing for the New

Yorker, make her come down and watch the movie, " said.

said he regretted that almost instantly. But he dismisses her

challenges — and all others — to his films.

" I make sure that all of the facts in my movie are absolutely 100

percent true, " said. " And I'm very, very concerned about that,

because I want people to listen to my opinion. And that opinion is

based on these facts. "

Jack Mathews, film critic for the New York Daily News, is not

convinced. He thinks is a brilliant filmmaker, but he said

has lowered the bar for documentaries.

" I share his politics, generally, but I don't like his style, " Mathews

said.

Mathews was appalled by 's confrontation with gun-rights advocate

Charlton Heston in the 2002 film, Bowling for Columbine. The movie

implies that Heston attended a rally in Flint, Mich., just after a

6-year-old girl had been shot and killed.

In the film, appears at Heston's house, snags an interview and

asks the seemingly frail actor if he felt insensitive because the

community had " just " suffered the loss of the child. Eventually,

Heston walks out on the interview.

" This is her. Please don't leave, Mr. Heston, please. Take a look at

her. This is the girl, " said.

In fact, Heston attended a rally in Flint eight months after the child

was killed. is unapologetic.

" Yes, somebody should go knock on his door. And yes, somebody should

ask him some hard questions. He was the president of the NRA at that

time, " said. " A year or so later he came down with Alzheimer's

and resigned. I feel very bad that the eventually got Alzheimer's. He

didn't have Alzheimer's when I interviewed him. "

The real fault, said, lies with the mainstream media, which he

said never hold his villains to account.

" I mean, it really is disgusting when a guy in a ball cap with a high

school education is the one asking the tough questions, " said.

" Criticize me? No. Somebody really should show up and say, 'Thanks.' "

Certainly, many health care workers are saying exactly that. But in

Sicko, has once again opened the door to critics — partly

because he paints the systems in other countries in such glowing colors.

" Everyone, anyone can go to the hospital, can go to a doctor and never

have to worry about paying a bill, " said. " And those countries –

Britain, France, Canada — the people in those countries all live

longer than we do. "

Even, he insists, in Cuba.

" On average they live, in Cuba, a month longer than we do, " he said.

Actually, NPR research suggests that Americans edge out Cubans, but

not by much. acknowledged he has heard complaints about supply

shortages in Cuba, and that he has heard about long waits for

treatment in Great Britain and Canada. But, he said, those reports are

" anecdotal. " And he is quick to take on those who question him.

" This is the typical NPR: afraid of being accused of having liberal

bias — so, 'Let's make sure we attack him enough in this piece,' "

said.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11208212