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Following the sneak preview of “Sicko” Saturday night I left the theater with competing emotions: ecstatic (that the long-awaited film is out and has the potential to empower and motivate), depressed (because 13,000 Americans die annually when they are denied care), angry (that America is too selfish and anesthetized to demand reform), and humiliated (because our health care is inferior to that of some of the poorest countries; their babies survive more often and their people live longer).Michael Moore's on-screen presence is less than in previous films. When he appears it is in the guise of a curious, kindly observer and we are brought along to absorb the situation and connect emotionally with the individuals telling their stories.
The film shows rather than preaches that whether uninsured or insured, patients are at the mercy of Congressional sell-outs that have turned our lives over to "safekeeping" by HMOs and insurance companies. Sicko lays bare a heartless, profit-focused system where insurance representatives are paid salaries and bonuses based on the number of claims they deny.
If pressed to find a weak spot in the film it would come from my insight as a health and science writer. While Physicians for a National Health Program is mentioned, Moore could have easily found some strong examples of U.S. physicians and medical researchers who are champions for universal health care and government (as opposed to pharma) -funded medical research. Many of the physicians and researchers I speak with are in favor of single payer universal health care who bemoan the money spent on wars when health care is in a crisis state. By including their views Moore would have drawn more physicians in as partners as efforts to reform the system are surely going to ramp up. (It will be interesting to check the medical association web sites to see which ones are taking a position on the film.)
As it is, Sicko is jammed with information. The film’s quick jumps from patients done wrong, to foreigners’ incredulousness that health care isn’t a basic right in America, to the “gotcha” footage of legislators and insurance villains, to humorous juxtapositioning, make it highly entertaining. But one of the longest uninterrupted sequences occurs near the end and it may be the most teachable moment of the film. Showcasing his affinity for unions and working people, Moore developed an emotionally charged sequence that elegantly and symbolically provides the solution: Solidarity!
Be prepared to laugh and cry, sometimes simultaneously, when you go. Bring a friend or two because this film begs for discussion. I would strongly advise bringing a hankie.
