Fahrenheit 9/11

I might as well come clean right up front. I'm American.

I was tempted not to confess to this. The written word is one place I can get away with it provided I remember to put the 'U' in colour and write about chips instead of french fries. Oh sorry. Since they declined to support the invasion we're not talking French, we're supposed to call them `freedom fries".

'Freedom fries' are only one of the many recent absurdities that might make one reticent about ones place of origin. Many more of them are on display in Michael Moore's new film Fahrenheit 9/11. As an American, I've watched with interest the progress of this film, from Disney's initial refusal to release it, though it's success at Canne, to the inevitable furore it's caused since it's American release.

Moore has been no stranger to controversy in the States, as far back as his 1989 film. Roger and Me, in which he took on General Motors and their CEO Roger Smith for abandoning his hometown of Flint, Michigan. It's worth remembering that while Moore has become known for being the ultimate anti-Bushite, his ultimate target has always been corporate greed and stupid white men (Clinton was one, too.)

Despite that, the battle lines over the film have bee pretty well drawn along party lines. This has included various groups calling for theatres to boycott the film (considering how well it's doing now, not many have taken them up on it) and one group that tried to undermine sales by putting a bootleg copy on the Internet - a tactic which seems to play into Moore's hands, really. Some Americans have, I'm afraid, an unfortunate tendency to confuse criticism of the government with hatred of the country...and in this case, with opposition to the war with hatred of the troops. (Moore's paean to the young soldiers that concludes the film gives lie to this in his case).

But what about the actual movie? The film follows a strange trajectory, which quite possibly follows Moore's own progress in approaching this subject. What starts off in a barrage of rather obvious, but frequently hilarious jibes at Bush end with touching and harrowing images of war and grief.

Ultimately the film is most valuable for the documents Moore has brought to the public, including Al Gore presiding over his own court approved defeat in the Senate, and most notably, the weird and disturbing footage of Bush in the minutes after he was informed of the second attack. The minutes tick by as he sits with a deer-caught-in-the-headlights looks and does nothing. Moore provides humorous commentary as to what he guesses Bush is thinking, but like most of what's best in this film, it speaks for itself.

Also speaking for itself is chilling images of the combat in Iraq and the footage of the painfully young men who are in it. Then there is Ms Lila Lipscombe, whose son died in Iraq, who has come to believe his childs sacrifice was for no purpose. Her breakdown in front of the White House after a confrontation with a Bush supporter is the most wrenching in this, or any film you're likely to see this year.

The grief of Lila Lipscomb is mirrored by that of an Iraqi woman mourning the destruction of her family and calling for vengeance against American. We can hardly pretend she is a terrorist or a supporter of Saddam. Her hatred is born entirely out of what she has suffered in the war. It's a frightening illustration of how far we are from hearts-and-minds winning and why it has not left us any safer.

9/11 is a movie I hope every American voter will see. As for every Briton, well, it might force me to be even more apologetic every time someone catches my accent. But if you're interested in what the upcoming American election might mean for the rest of the world, I think you should see it. Just remember, most of us didn't vote for him. And we still call them french fries...

Check out what Adrian Bhagat thought of this film