The Circuit

The “Sicko” onslaught began Saturday morning with an early screening followed by an impassioned press conference with filmmaker Michael Moore.

His new film addresses the American healthcare system, a topic that enrages him as much as the Iraqi war or the easy availability of firearms. “What has happened to us as a people?” he said to the capacity crowd of international journalists. “Where is our soul?”

In America, some critics wonder if we’ve become overly familiar with Moore’s righteous-anger brigade. Nevertheless, early word on "Sicko" was good, with viewers describing the film as “surprisingly moving.”
 
Cannes is something of a warm bath for Moore, thanks to the festival’s rapturous responses to “Bowling to Columbine” in 2002 and Palme D’Or winner “Farenheit 9/11” in 2004. And this morning’s screening received rousing applause.

Although he expects the Bush Administration to pick apart his film — he’s already under investigation by the U.S. Treasury Dept. for a trip to Cuba with ill 9/11 rescue workers — Moore said he’s more concerned with the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry. Not until the profit motive is taken out of the health care industry will things really change Stateside, he said.

Asked how he plans to address his legal problems, Moore, who has until May 22 to respond, said he doesn’t take his legal liability “lightly.” He’s also taken a master duplicate of “Sicko” out of America, should he be prevented from screening the Cuban footage. Having to do that, he said, is “ridiculous” and “insane.”

“I’m an American. We should be able to travel freely,” he said. “This administration flaunts the law.” (Elizabeth Guider)