Review of Sicko (2007) by Scott W — 08 Jul 2013

Sicko is a rather difficult film to critically analyse and rate. On the one hand it is simply amazing and utterly necessary for American (and world) society. Moore beautifully portrays the problems and issues behind the situation in the U.S. health care system. The U.S. is fundamentally inhumane when it comes to health care, and whether most Americans are willing to admit that, Moore plows that point across with fierce dedication.

On the other hand, to prove his point, he glosses over the problems that people in his case study countries - Cuba, Canada, UK, France - actually experience. With an obvious bias, Moore does not even try to show us the negative sides of the health care in the other countries. His "typical middle class French family" is not quite as typical as he might want us to believe. Or that British doctor is not necessarily a 100% representative of all British or European doctors, who most certainly do not live in $1 million houses & apartments. However, Moore does manage to bring a human aspect to the film, and give it a soul that many documentaries fail at. For that reason, and for the fact that he is addressing an issue that is in urgent need of addressing, this film does deserve quite a high rating. And, when it comes to his bias - well, documentaries are always biased. They never claim to represent the "truth" for they are always made with an intent, that cannot be fully objective. And Moore quite certainly recognises that, and just as he did with "Bowling for Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9/11," he unrelentingly pursues his point across. Excellent documentary!