Sicko (2007)

A documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories.

Director:

Michael Moore

Writer:

Michael Moore

Stars:

Michael Moore, Tucker Albrizzi, Tony Benn

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Michael Moore	...	Himself
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tucker Albrizzi	...	Himself
Tony Benn	...	Himself
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
Reggie Cervantes	...	Herself
Bill Clinton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Hillary Rodham Clinton	...	Herself (archive footage)
Billy Crystal	...	Himself (archive footage)
John Graham	...	Himself
Aleida Guevara	...	Herself
William Maher	...	Himself
Richard Nixon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Patrick Pedraja	...	Himself
Linda Peeno	...	Herself

Storyline

Documentary look at health care in the United States as provided by profit-oriented health maintenance organizations (HMOs) compared to free, universal care in Canada, the U.K., and France. Moore contrasts U.S. media reports on Canadian care with the experiences of Canadians in hospitals and clinics there. He interviews patients and doctors in the U.K. about cost, quality, and salaries. He examines why Nixon promoted HMOs in 1971, and why the Clintons' reform effort failed in the 1990s. He talks to U.S. ex-pats in Paris about French services, and he takes three 9/11 clean-up volunteers, who developed respiratory problems, to Cuba for care. He asks of Americans, "Who are we?"

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Plot Keywords:

hmo | france | canada | cuba | hospital | 

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Taglines:

This might hurt a little.

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Genres:

Documentary | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Offiical site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Spanish Russian

Release Date:

22 June 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bolesno

Filming Locations:

Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£156,173 (UK) (26 October 2007)

Gross:

£156,173 (UK) (26 October 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dog Eat Dog Films, Weinstein Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Moore was pressured by executive producers Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein, friends of the Clinton family, to cut the criticism of 'Hillary Clinton', but he declined.

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Goofs

As he is in the boat nearing the United States naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Michael Moore shouts that the base is on United States soil. It is on Cuban soil and leased by the United States.

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Quotes

Michael Moore: If this is what can happen between supposed enemies, if one enemy can hold out his hand and offer to heal, then what else is possible? That's when I heard that the man who runs the biggest anti-Michael Moore website was going to have to shut it down. He could no longer afford to keep it up because his wife was ill and he couldn't afford to pay for her health insurance. He was faced with a choice of either keep attacking me or pay for his wife's health. Fortunately, he chose his wife. But ...

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Crazy Credits

A quote by Alexis de Tocqueville on the greatness of America is shown in the end credits: "The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults." A small postscript is then added: "(He was French.)"

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Connections

Features Red Nightmare (1962)

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Soundtracks

"Don't Be Shy"
Written by Cat Stevens (as Yusuf Islam)
Performed by Cat Stevens
Courtesy of Island Records Ltd.
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Pretty much what I expected

Having read all the comments and reviews, this movie was pretty much what I expected. Moore does a really good job in making his point.

What bothered me a little was his black & white view of the healthcare industry - either it is public OR private. In reality, many western countries have a "hybrid" system. For example here in Finland we have a pretty reasonable public healthcare system (which by the way is not totally free for the patient, albeit very cheap), but in addition, we also have private clinics, if you want even faster service and are willing to pay extra. You can also get an insurance from private companies, which provides extra financial support and/or service in the private clinics in case of illness. Also some workplaces and institutes have free doctors.

A portion of the cost of medicines is substituted by the government in either case, and there is an annual limit after which they are totally substituted.

I think it would be pretty straightforward to establish this kind of system in the US. There is no need to socialize healthcare TOTALLY. There is no need for the insurance company to "go" (as Moore put it), they just need to step aside a little and stop being the main authority. Also, if insurance companies have to compete with FREE (health care), there is only one thing they can do: offer really good service!