From its title, Michael Moore’s first film for six years Where To Invade Next promised to be an attack on American military imperialism. Instead it’s a overly protracted comedy sketch where Moore personally “invades” various mostly European countries as he steals various ideas that Americans could benefit from. Thus in Italy he learns people enjoy protracted paid holidays; in France, he finds schoolchildren relish sophisticated lunches and look aghast at pictures of what US kids eat; in Finland, pupils learn more by not being pushed too hard. In Iceland, women genuinely run things and bad bankers go to jail; in Norway, even Anders Breivik is treated humanely.
There are very some funny scenes where Moore’s flabbily enquiring face confronts looks of pure dismay and disbelief among the Europeans, especially the kids, on learning that Americans don’t have it so good. But the film is rabble-rousing naïveté. The only place outside Europe Moore “invades” to show how changes for the better can be made is Tunisia, presumably filmed before the atrocities. In Berlin, looking at the Wall, he says change can be so easy if you have the courage — “hammer — chisel — done”, rather discounting Nato.
Finally, he says they’re all American ideas anyway: “We don’t need to invade — we just need to go to the American Lost and Found — go back to Kansas.” A covert imperialist himself, then.
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