Bowling for Columbine
4 out of 4 stars
Would you like to go see something really scary this weekend at the theaters? Try Bowling for Columbine, the new Michael Moore documentary about guns in America; it's the most frightening film to be released in a very long time.
In his previous films Roger & Me and The Big One, the portly Moore took on big-name corporations that were basically screwing the country. In Bowling for Columbine, he takes on a much larger issue: guns.
The 121-minute film presents us with these facts: America has more gun murders than Canada, Britain, Germany, Japan and Australia, yet all of those countries- especially Canada- has just as many, if not more, guns as the United States. Although Moore begins his journey talking about the tragic shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., the film asks why Americans kill their fellow Americans.
Moore's voyage takes him from Colorado to Detroit to New York, to Windsor, Ontario, to the house of National Rifle Association president Charlton Heston. The thing that makes Moore so endearing to those of us who are shocked and blown away by the truth is that he asks the hard questions, the queries that no one else has the guts to ask. Heston is only one of the big-name celebrities who gets ambushed by the Michigan-born filmmaker. Other famous folks include shock-rocker Marilyn Manson, the creators of the hit cartoon "South Park," and the oldest man in the world, Dick Clark. Some talk to him, some blow him off, and the answers of one of the aforementioned celebrities will leave you gasping for air.
The only problem is that these questions can't be answered easily. Some people don't want to know the answers; there are a few people that Moore corners who just don't want to talk to him. Then there are the many colorful characters that Moore encounters who are just shocking. Like the infamous rabbit lady from Roger & Me, there are people featured in Bowling for Columbine who stagger the mind. Among them is the brother of Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols.
James Nichols was implicated as the third member of the infamous bombing, but was released. He is now a tofu farmer (but he'd prefer to be called a "food" farmer) who owns lots and lots of guns. As an example, he shows Moore a .44 Magnum under his pillow, then he cocks the safety and puts the gun to his head.
The most chilling sequence in the film is about the deadly massacre at Columbine High School. Moore must have used every possible tactic to obtain the security videotapes from the cafeteria during the shootings. The sequence filled with these tapes is simply hair-raising.
One thing that changes throughout Bowling for Columbine is how funny the films gets from beginning to end. As the movie starts, there is much dark humor worth laughing about. By the time the Columbine security tapes are shown, there is no more humor. Every so often, someone is portrayed as a weirdo, but the final hour is more sobering and tragic; thus, it is more moving or seriocomic than funny. As with his previous ventures, Moore knows how to make the blood-curdling funny, then make you want to cry at the awful truth of the situation.
One especially brilliant (and funny) sequence is animated, telling the audience about the history of America. The scene is narrated by an energetic bullet; we are given the story of our country with an underlying theme of fear. Moore believes the country is filled with very fearful and paranoid people; the reason we kill is because we are conditioned to be afraid of everything that doesn't look tidy and happy.
The only real problem with Bowling for Columbine is that it drags in some spots. The legal aspect of a shooting in Flint, Mich. (Moore's hometown) slows the film down in the middle. If 15 minutes were lopped off, Columbine would be a slightly tighter, smoother ship. But Moore's parable manages to teach us and make us laugh at the same time; it's a quality not found in many filmmakers, let alone documentarians.
If you don't like Michael Moore, this probably isn't for you. He narrates the scenes he doesn't appear in, and is featured in everything else. However, Mr. Moore makes such salient points that it's hard not to listen. The truth can be shut out for only so long.
Moore is a man whose relentless nature and hangdog presence separates him from every other politically-minded celebrity. His caustic remarks are made funnier by the utter oblivious nature of his subjects. This is just one aspect that makes Bowling for Columbine, a documentary with much more on its mind than it lets on, stand out as an excellent piece of filmmaking.
Reach the reporter at joshua.spiegel@asu.edu
