Whatever it means for a country to be Number One in ways that matter to ordinary people, America isn’t it. As is confirmed in Michael Moore‘s wide-eyed travelogue “Where to Invade Next,” the United States could learn a lot from other nations in fields as disparate as education, incarceration, work-life balance, drug decriminalization, school lunches, Holocaust remembrance, and female representation in the banking industry.
Moore starts with the notion that America is broken, and in this documentary he rambles around Western Europe (with a quick detour to Tunisia), admiring what he sees and beating himself up for what, say, France has that we don’t. During the cutesier first half of the documentary, Moore carries around an American flag and plants it on the ground when he finds an idea, like Norway’s rehabilitation-oriented prison system, that he likes. (A more apt but less provocative description of the film might be “What to Appropriate Next.”)
Whether you’ll enjoy Moore’s latest film depends on how you feel about its central conceit, which is to cherry-pick what’s great about a given country and contrast that nation’s situation to ours. If you’re in a self-loathing mood, you might find yourself nodding along with Moore, a host and narrator who benefits from a jaunty tone and briskly paced editing. But I found the film intellectually facile and politically delusional.
Take, for example, Moore’s veneration of Italy’s legally mandated eight weeks of paid vacation. That policy sounds great. What Moore conveniently fails to mention, though, is that Italy has an unemployment rate more than double ours and that earlier this summer, nearly one in two Italian youth suffered joblessness — a situation that probably has something to do with the country’s generous employee benefits. Likewise, the film’s rosy depiction of German racial relations (ostensibly because of that country’s unique Holocaust commemoration) will certainly come as a surprise to Deutschland’s neo-Nazis and marginalized Turkish immigrants alike.
The decontextualization of such policies can veer from disingenuous to clueless. Moore’s glowing appraisal of Finland’s short school days (which supposedly result in the world’s top students) wouldn’t be sustainable for many working-class parents, who would then find themselves in need of additional childcare. Moore likewise ignores the fact that longer school days can be a boon to students in violent neighborhoods, since they’re likelier to be safer in schools than on the streets. Also unmentioned is the possibility that socialist Finland boasts more educational achievement compared to the U.S. because poverty and violence burden our students at a much higher rate.
However selectively they may have chosen to present it, Moore and his team at least did their research. The best parts of “Where to Invade Next” are in the details, like the budget breakdown on each French tax return, which notes how much each taxpayer’s contributions went to what government expenditure. It’s also noteworthily abominable that the U.S.’s only ally in foregoing required paid maternity leave is Papua New Guinea. (“Where to Invade” largely avoids issues Moore’s devoted previous films to, like healthcare and gun control.)
Moore repeatedly declares that many of these policies were born in the U.S. and simply implemented elsewhere. That may be the case, but what strikes most resonantly is the opposite: That many of these ideas, like Finland’s eradication of a private-school system and Slovenia’s free tuition for all undergraduates, are profoundly part and parcel of those cultures. Just as much as Moore pretends that European nations aren’t beset by their own problems — which seems clangingly untrue when the continent has responded deplorably to the Syrian refugee crisis and white supremacists are currently rising in both numbers and political representation — he dishonestly declines to admit that any of these progressive proscriptions would be met by the fiercest opposition here.
American exceptionalism certainly deserves to be deconstructed, but that can most assuredly be accomplished with a lot more nuance than it is here. As an exercise in liberal self-flagellation, hey, whatever floats your boat. But as a political call-to-arms, I believe in America: We can do better.
25 Must-See Movies at Tribeca Film Festival (Photos)
"The Adderall Diaries" sees a troubled writer played by James Franco throw himself into a hot murder case in an attempt to curb prescription drug addiction and get his mojo back.
Rabbitbandini Productions
Richard Gere's "Franny" tells of a wealthy eccentric who meddles in the affairs of a recently deceased friend's daughter (Dakota Fanning) and her husband (Theo James).
Big Shoes Media
"Havana Motor Club" is a lively documentary about the underground automotive scene in Havana, which thrived long after Castro banned drag racing in the 50s.
Perlmutt Productions
From executive producer Michael Strahan, "Play it Forward" is a documentary following hall-of-fame hopeful Tony Gonzalez as he finished his last year in the NFL.
Tribeca Film
A legend in New York and documentary filmmaking, Albert Maysles' posthumous "In Transit" tugs appropriate heartstrings as it follows passengers on the nation's most highly trafficked train route "The Empire Builder."
Tribeca Film
"Song of Lahore," another documentary, celebrates the brave musicians who struggled to maintain their artistry after the Islamization of Pakistan in the 1970s.
Ravi Films
"Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle" positions the seemingly benign Taser, manufactured in 1999 as a deadly weapon police apply with little to no regulation.
Tribeca Film
Leah Wolchok brings unfettered access to the instution of The New Yorker's single panel cartoons with "Very Semi-Serious."
Tribeca Film
In "A Courtship," Amy Kohn takes a sensitive lens to the conventions of a modern Christian courtship, wherein young women entrust their families to find a suitable husband in step with their faith.
Tribeca Film
Jean Finlay gives a fascinating look at a mysterious singer who sounded note-for-note like Elvis Presley, was exploited by record companies and heard by adoring fans since the 1970s in "Orion: The Man Who Would Be King."
Tribeca Film
Comic filmmaker and Internet child Patrick O’Brien documents his journey with ALS, aimed to fly in the face of the degenerative disease as well as offer a few laughs in "TransFatty Lives."
Tribeca Film
"Anesthesia" packs a major star cast in this drama about the intersecting lives of lonely New Yorkers played by Kristen Stewart, Sam Waterston, Glenn Close, Corey Stoll, Gretchen Mol and Michael K. Williams.
Hello Please
"Bleeding Heart" sees another leading lady effort from Jessica Biel, content in a yuppie clean living existence until she's burdened with taking in her troubled younger sister. The latter has a deeper effect on the former, as Biel's character's perfect world comes undone.
Super Crispy Entertainment
In a strange but sweet scenario, "Maggie" sees Arnold Schwarzenegger as a father in denial about his daughter's (Abigail Breslin) affliction: she's rapidly become a zombie thanks to an outbreak in their farming town.
Silver Reel
Equal parts comical and violent, "Mojave" reteams Oscar Isaac and Garrett Hedlund ("Inside Llewyn Davis") on a road trip adventure with a dark bend.
Atlas Independent
"A Nazi Legacy: What Our Fathers Did" finds two living sons of Nazis convicted in the Nuremberg trials, probing at memory, legacy and the remembrances of a historical horrors.
Tribeca Film
"Prescription Thugs" sees documentarian Chris Bell dress down the giants of the American pharmaceutical companies as he previously did steroids in "Bigger Stronger Faster."
Tribeca Film
A four year lesson from Noam Chomsky on what has created profound American economic disparity is packaged in "Interests," from directors Peter Hutchison, Kelly Nyks, and Jared P. Scott.
PF Pictures
Executive producer Martin Scorsese and director Nick Sandow ("Orange Is The New Black") weave a fascinating tale of a man obsessed with mob movies (Vincent Piazza) and his wife (recent Oscar winner Patricia Arquette) as they chase drugs and money in efforts to recreate the lifestyle.
Electric Entertainment
Amber Heard and Christopher Walken make an odd and wonderful father-daughter team in "When I Live My Life Over Again," where Heard's flighty city girl heads to the Hamptons home of her dad, a former singer.
Maybach Film Productions
Famed Italian filmmaking brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani offer up "Wondrous Boccaccio," a gorgeous tale about a group that escapes the plague in Florence for an artistic retreat in the country.
Stemal Entertainment
"A Ballerina's Tale" is the hotly anticipated documentary starring Misty Copeland, the first African-American female soloist at New York’s American Ballet Theatre
Romance Productions Inc.
"Rifftrax Live: The Room" reteams Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" to skewer cult classic films. In this case, they set their sights on Tommy Wiseau's "The Room."
Tribeca Film
"Goodfellas" clearly isn't a premier title but rather a 25th anniversary screening, and what better place to roll out the Ray Liotta classic than Tribeca?
Warner Bros.
Traditional production of Saké has changed very little over the centuries. Erik Shirai’s "The Birth of Saké" offers a rare glimpse into a family-run brewery that’s been operating for over 100 years.
Tribeca Film
1 of 25
From thoughtful documentaries like ”A Courtship“ and ”In Transit“ to dramas such as ”Anesthesia,“ see the can’t-miss premiere titles
"The Adderall Diaries" sees a troubled writer played by James Franco throw himself into a hot murder case in an attempt to curb prescription drug addiction and get his mojo back.