As art and as political commentary, “Sicko” marks a giant leap forward
for Michael Moore. Dispensing with a lot of the customary gimmicks of
his previous films–including trademark confrontations with greedy
corporate heads on their own turf–it focuses more on the stories of
individuals who have been victimized in one fashion or another by the
lack of decent health care in the richest country in the world. By using
their misfortune as a means of exposing a system built on naked
profiteering, he will open the minds of millions of Americans to a new
way of thinking. The emphasis throughout the film is on the need for
collective action and working-class solidarity, a clear challenge to the
way of doing business as usual in capitalist America.
The film begins with a look at the consequences of being uninsured in
the US. Moore introduces us to a worker who loses two fingers to a
band-saw. After being rushed to the hospital with the two severed
fingers, he learns that they have a rate schedule based on the type of
finger that needs to be reattached. His index finger will cost $12,000
but the ring finger will be $60,000. Since the man describes himself
both as a sentimentalist and of limited means, he decided to go for the
ring finger since it was a reminder of his wedding vows.
full: http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/sicko/
