Michael Moore hasn’t been the talk of the town for a while now. His Oscar win in 2003 for the controversial, but publically effective FAHRENHEIT 9/11 spurred discussions but his follow-up films didn’t continue his path as the world’s truth teller as effectively. You can’t forget that Moore is chiefly making films about America for Americans, though. In WHERE TO INVADE NEXT, Moore goes on a “raid” across Europe (and Tunisia) to “steal” the solutions for the social problems in the US. He finds attractive, happy Italian employees who enjoy weeks of paid vacation, tasty, balanced school lunches in France, and a Norwegian prison with conditions that will make viewers in the “land of the free” jealous.
This is all presented in the usual entertaining and funny way and European viewers will probably ask themselves why anyone would want to move to the US since the American Dream is surely some place else. On the other hand, viewers will probably suspect that the scenes are perhaps a bit overdone, like when a French child allegedly tastes coke for the first time.
The second half of the film proves to be far more globally idealistic. It’s not about US specific problems, but fundamentally about new, thoughtful ways of dealing with yourself and fellow people. Moore shows where this has been implemented, like with a group of women CEO’s. This could be dismissed as a pipe dream or you could be convinced, either way it is a passionate and vivid plea.

Christian Klose (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Elinor Lewy