Bowling for Columbine by Michael Moore (Review)

Moore is far too intelligent a filmmaker to boil down such a complex issue to such a simple solution.
Bowling for Columbine - Michael Moore

Given the current political climate, this film is likely going to fly like a lead brick in the USA and that’s a shame because it’s simply brilliant. Bowling for Columbine was the first of Michael Moore’s features that I’ve seen (though I have seen a good bit of his TV work) and it’s made a believer out of me. As you might guess from the title, Moore spends a couple of hours trying to figure out why there is such a disproportionately high number of gun killings in the United States compared to other western countries (it’s about ten to one these days), with special attention paid to the Columbine shootings.

There’s a fighting chance that this film will be labeled unpatriotic, and it almost definitely will be branded an anti-gun film, which is unfortunate. It’s also wrong. Moore is far too intelligent a filmmaker to boil down such a complex issue to such a simple solution. After all, on a per capita basis, there are no more guns in the USA than there are here in Canada, so why so many more gun killings? Though he never reaches a hard and fast conclusion, Moore certainly seems inclined to think that the media are contributing to a larger culture of fear, which is a major contributor to the problem.

Those of you who have seen any of Moore’s other work know that he uses a rolling, episodic, almost stream of consciousness style to make his points. This renders any real discussion of plotline pretty much pointless. However, if you’re anything like me, within about 20 minutes you’ll be wondering aloud about just how the hell Moore manages to get some of these people to talk to him on camera. There are lengthy interviews with members of the Michigan Militia, the Nichols brother who was charged and released in the Oklahoma City bombing, Columbine survivors, and, in one of the film’s most memorable sequences, Charlton Heston.

This is a thorny issue and one that Moore handles thoughtfully and with a great deal of respect. Moore was there to present the film, and I’m still regretting the fact that I had to leave before the closing Q&A session.

Written by Chris Brown.

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