Famous director Michael Moore has gotten onto the big screen again, with his great movie Where to Invade Next at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). I was very lucky to get to watch his documentary and interview him with my fellow journalists. Moore is a documentary filmmaker, writer, director, actor, and political activist. Some of his popular films like Roger & Me, Fahrenheit 9/11, and Bowling for Columbine, have become the most thought-provoking American documentaries of the time. Off the screen, he is a witty, humble, friendly, and funny person. We had a very good time chatting with him.
Where to Invade Next is definitely a stunning movie that you should consider watching.This film reveals many things that people have thought about seriously, yet hides a hint of comedy that you can spot through the corner of your eye.
For those who are interested in surprises and finding out what the film is about, stop reading here.
USA, the strongest country in the world today, has lost many battles and wars in its history, but it all changed when they sent one man – the documentarian. In the movie, Moore invaded all across Europe and then down to Tunisia and Iceland, without firing a single gun. How? Instead of retrieving all of USA’s lost lives, oil, and money, he made the next generation better by giving them the chance to get oil, lives, and money. He stole these other countries’ ideas for systems of education, working, and even politics and jailing.
Moore said that the hardest thing about making a movie is trusting yourself, and staying true, and without having others tell you what to do.
A documentary is a movie that was taken in the actual places with actual people. Therefore, the difficulties to create such a great film are numerous. For example, the police might stop you from filming at a restricted area, or people might walk past the camera while filming, blocking the shot.
Moore told us that being a director and being in the film at the same is hard. At the Berlin Wall scene, the camera was Moore’s eyes.
Moore feels there has always been some enemy the USA is fighting against.
“The issue of the United States at infinite war is something that has concerned me for quite some time, and provides the necessary satire for this film,” said Moore, when he was interviewed by Variety.
Moore has acted in three movies. In his opinion, acting is very fun and easy. You don’t have to think of much as an actor other than what you’re going to say, but he still prefers to be known in a director role, which gives directions to the cast and crew and creates an overall vision through which a film eventually becomes realized.
Where to Invade Next shows that excellence is possible. Invading often puts the thought of war into our heads, but invading also means stealing and improving upon ideas. Why have wars when you can make your country better without them? Why hack computer systems to make your grade better when you can make it better yourself? These questions are impressively answered by Moore’s film.
