Bowling For Columbine Details

In his 1989 debut Roger & Me, “people's film-maker” Michael Moore went after the CEO of General Motors. Here, his quest is much broader: what actually causes America's alarming gun-related annual death toll? Whether opening a bank account that comes with a free rifle or harassing retail giant K-Mart to persuade them to stop selling the type of bullets used at the 1999 Columbine school massacre, Moore leaves no stone unturned, addressing issues such as foreign policy, race, welfare and the post-11 September climate of fear. Shifting with surprising ease between humour and pathos, this is an important, outspoken film, if not an easy one to watch. Moore's confrontation with National Rifle Association president Charlton Heston proves especially uncomfortable, but, at a time when Moore could be branded “unpatriotic” for his views, here is a rousing film that urges you think about what patriotism really means. This is a rare dispatch from the America that the US's own media seems reluctant to acknowledge.

Haphazard documentary that goes off in different directions and doesn't always follow through on the matters it raises; but the matters it does raise are important and receive a airing that is at once funny and angry.