What if the United States invaded other countries not in order to control people, but to learn from them?! Moore, in a mostly positive yet still humorous, sarcastic and witty bent, leads the charge into other countries. He liberates many brilliant and counter-intuitive strategies for success. It is shocking, even to people who think they know these strategies already.
The invasion of Italy comes first. Here we see that the clash between the company and the well-being of its employees, in pay, vacation, family health and more, is a total fallacy. Kids in Finland have no standardized tests, no private schools and even no homework. Kids are treated with respect, like adults really, and have more time to play and be kids. And yet Finland is no slouch when it comes to education and in fact they lead the world here. In France kids are provided with healthy school lunches that we consider gourmet, yet for the French it is just a decent meal. Germany and its companies support a strong middle class by providing all workers with great pay and lots of vacation time. This is so even with less hours worked per week. Companies even encourage unions and furnish employees with spas. "If you give workers power," says a company leader "it is better for everyone."
Slovenia, among other countries, provides free college to everyone, even foreigners. Slovenian officials were at the theater handing out applications. No one is penalized for using drugs in Portugal, and the country is not drowning in anarchy or crime. Women have equal rights in Tunisia. Prisoners in Norway have their own cabins and lawn chairs in the sunlight. They cook their own meals and are free to roam around with barely any security personnel present. Even in the country's maximum security prison there are open rooms. Moore contrasted this with videos of U.S. prison beatings and other harsh treatments. What if the Lehman Brothers were the Lehman Sisters?! Iceland shows us how this might play out.
Moore offered little to counter his ideas, yet we hear too much about such counter points already. The mainstream media, said Moore, is adept at showing us how bad the world is. He thinks this can be fixed. These ideas from other countries are not just good, they are already in use. And they are not just in use, they allow other countries to excel and lead the world. Many of these ideas are American ideas, but out of fear or ignorance they are not used in America. All Americans should see this. Four and a half of five stars. World premiere seen at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015.
