Review of Bowling for Columbine (2002) by Heloisa R — 21 Dec 2009

A film that will make anyone who is not an American see that, whilst they are definitely the most powerful country in the world, they are definitely not the safest, or the smartest.

I am not an American, so I will not critique this film from a point of view that I do not have, but I can critique it from a point of view that American?s do not harness either; The point of view of virtually anyone living anywhere else on the planet!

Bowling for Columbine was always going to be powerful. Michael Moore has truly shown his talent on many previous occasions, and I have been a fan for a long time. However, this film doesn't just bowl for columbine, it bowls every other documentary Moore has been involved with, clean off the chart.

Never, have I ever sat and watched any film, documentary, series etc with my mouth gaping so widely. Needless to say, I needed water for this one.

Many will argue that Moore is one sided, and I have often found him to be unashamedly bias on many occasions (Fahrenheit 9/11 for example), but I didn?t see much of it here. Every time I had a theory of my own, he knocked it over, and every time I reluctantly admitted that, perhaps, he was being a little prejudice, he went to the other side to prove that he wasn't.

The very first scene of this film, taking place in a local bank, left me reeling, and this was only the first five minutes. Thereafter, every time I found myself in a position where I did not think it was possible for him to show me anything more incredulous, he comes along and does so like it is the easiest thing in the world which is really quite scary given the subject matter.

People will nit pick over this film, because that is what people do. Especially people who don?t agree, but even with its faults, Bowling for Columbine is one of the most devastating films I have seen. Not so much because of its contents or even its subject, but because no team of writers, directors or actors could ever create something as terrifying as what is real. My friend?s neck was so sore from the constant head shaking, that he virtually had a migraine by the end. I do wonder what it would be like to be an American watching this film; If their reactions are benign, shocked, or simply just nonexistent. Perhaps I don?t want to know.

As moved and touched as I was, I spent the majority of my time watching this film, laughing! Why? Because when something as confronting as this beams into your living room, and you don?t live in America, all you can really do is laugh. It is a pressure valve. A release for the explosion of disbelief that builds in your head where there is nothing else to really do but open your mouth, chuckle out loud and thank God that you live elsewhere.

Truly one of the most powerful films I have ever seen.

RECOMMENDATIONS.

WATCH IT OF YOU LIKED: Just Watch it.

CHILDREN: Probably not under 15. The concept is quite adult.

RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY: Watch and pray.