Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

Director:

Michael Moore

Writer (WGA):

Michael Moore (written by)

Release Date:

2 October 2009 (Canada)

Genre:

Documentary | Drama

Plot:

On the 20-year anniversary of his groundbreaking masterpiece Roger & Me, Michael Moore's Capitalism:...

Plot Keywords:

Money Bag With Dollar Sign | Citizen's Arrest

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

US Showtimes:

Culver Plaza Theatres

2:20pm | 10:05

(personalize)

Cast

Thora Birch	...	Herself
William Black	...	Himself
Jimmy Carter	...	Himself (archive footage)
Congressman Elijah Cummings	...	Himself
Baron Hill	...	Himself
Marcy Kaptur	...	Herself
John McCain	...	Himself (archive footage)
Michael Moore	...	Himself
Sarah Palin	...	Herself (archive footage)
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt	...	Himself (archive footage)
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Himself (archive footage)
Wallace Shawn	...	Himself
Elizabeth Warren	...	Herself

Also Known As:

The New Movie (USA) (promotional title)
Untitled Michael Moore Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some language.

Runtime:

127 min | Canada:105 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45626) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | Finland:K-7 | Singapore:NC-16 | Ireland:PG | Norway:A | Portugal:M/12 | Japan:G

Filming Locations:

Chevrolet Plants, Flint, Michigan, USA

Company:

Overture Films

Trivia:

Michael Moore presented his Detroit premiere of the film in the movie theater located in the same building as the General Motors Headquarters. He was denied entrance to his own premiere, once again, until he came in without cameramen and press a few hours later.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The film depicts a boarded-up house in Bellington, WA; there is no such city in Washington state. It likely meant to say Bellingham, WA.

Quotes:

Michael Moore: I refuse to live in a country like this, and I'm not leaving.

Movie Connections:

Features Roger & Me (1989)

hits the right notes

The only criticism is that Moore fails to draw the distinction between economic systems and political ones. Capitalism, socialism, communism are systems for organizing economies. Each of these could be democratic, in that the people get to vote for laws, policies and actions of their government.

Capitalism is often linked to "free enterprise" conflating it with freedom. It's really about the right to own property and make money from exploitation of the work of others. It is built on a system of credit and interest charged for capital and money.

Communism has not private ownership of factories and the means of production, and no interest or credit. Presumably the economy is run by and for the people, not the managers or owners of the means of production.

Socialism is also has the means of production owned by the state which is the people. The state provides for rights such as housing, health care, a job and education.

And then there are mixed economies as well. Moore's film underscores the immoral nature of capitalism which places wealth over human needs. he shows how the system has been rigged for the wealthy who always come out on top, don't even play fairly and have workers believing that the system will reward them for hard work. But he shows this is a lie.

His point is that is 95% voted they could turn the system into a just one. He's an optimist on that. The public has few options in elections and they are consistently gamed and stolen, and government officials accept LEGAL bribes from anyone so their constituency is the ones with the most money not the ones with the most votes.