Movie Review: Bowling for Columbine
by Alex Keen
Published: October 4, 2002
Distributor: |
Director/Writer/Star: |
United Artists (MGM) |
Michael Moore |
For more information: IMDb Link |
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MAKE SURE TO READ MY REVIEW OF FAR FROM HEAVEN!
With a gaggle of powerful, well-known and controversial stars, a film like Michael Moore’s latest documentary would usually be anticipated for months, with endless promotional spots, teasers, and publicity stunts. Alas many of the movers and shakers involved had no idea what kind of movie they were being featured in, and were even less informed on what kind of questions they would be asked. Here lies the charm of Moore’s style, he uses guerilla style journalism to ask the questions no one seems to be asking, of the people no one seems to have the balls to ask.
And yet he is not alone -- other popular personalities include Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Bill Maher, Howard Stern and lackey “Stuttering” John, and even Chris Rock (who is featured in the film). What makes Moore unique to this genre of infotainment is his device, the documentary film. He spends many months on preparation for a project, deciding what issue to target, maybe deciding who to talk to, but always making sure to include the randomness of life into the feature. It is an essential part of any successful documentary project. A dependence on fate.
The title “Bowling for Columbine” is an incredibly misleading set of words that only cover a certain section of the film. While the dissection of the events of April 20, 1999 is important to Moore’s message, extraneous “plot” points often muddle it. Moore’s fascination with Charlton Heston and the NRA, the news media’s obsession with black male criminals, the utopic qualities of Canada, and the events of September 11th take away a lot of the emphasis of what seems to be the film’s central issues – how has our society become so susceptible to gun violence, who is to blame for it, and how can it be eradicated?
While Moore sometimes has difficulties keeping his storytelling linear and focused, his approach is still incredibly entertaining and informative. Specifically, an animated bullet explaining the white man’s history in America is hilariously shocking and completely apropos. The segment is an obvious nod to the comedic and political styling of South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone (also interviewed in the film). The dancing bullet traverses through an alternate look at US History – the white man and ever growing fear of everything that is not white or carrying a weapon.
Moore also includes shocking real life footage in conjunction with humor to make sure that: a) you are awake; b) you are paying attention; c) you don’t forget what you’ve seen. While some of the footage has been available to the public before (most likely on the “Banned from TV” tapes), some of the footage appears to never have been seen before. Images of Harris & Klebold walking through the cafeteria (or possibly library) shooting automatic weapons and tossing homemade explosives are startling.
Enjoying a film like “Bowling for Columbine” is completely about perspective. It is clearly not a film meant to appeal to the NRA, to members of the news media, to Dick Clark (you’ll see), or even hunting dogs. It is meant for the open minded and uninformed viewer. It is meant as a think piece, as a cautionary tale, and as a call to action. Unfortunately films like this typically end up as nothing more than a 15 second blurb on Dateline coming nowhere near the drastic cultural change that is intended
Overall Rating: A-
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