The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001, affected our national psyche very deeply. Osama Bin Laden's actions that day remain mysterious or at best unexplained by a hodgepodge of accusations and ideas.

In "Fahrenheit 9/11," Moore spends most of the documentary drawing a web of connections between the Bush family's financial activities and the Saudis, and then the industrial/financial beneficiaries of this war --- of all war. And he returns to his native Michigan to show how the poor are being recruited to fight this war --- all war.

The U.S. invasion of Iraq on March 19, 2003 continues to affect our nation's psyche very deeply. President George W. Bush's decisions, rationale and actions that day remain mysterious or at best unexplained by a hodgepodge of conflicting statements and lack of transparency. I found Michael Moore's satirical, cynical and chilling psuedo-documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" a means to look at the tragedy of the war in Iraq from a perspective that the U.S. news media is just getting around to, and very tentatively at that.

Let me tell you about my experience of going to see this film. I went to a multiplex that sits at a cross-section of racial and social diversity here in Los Angeles. Everyone came to the 2 p.m. showing in theater 15 --- African-Americans, Asians, Caucasians and Latinos; men and women; all age groups, cultures and classes.

When I go to the theater to review movies, I always go during the week, and during the day. Hardly anyone is there. On this Tuesday afternoon, the theater was almost full.

Three elderly folks sat next to me and I chatted with one of the women. I asked if she came with Moore's vision already, and she said, "Yes."

I have never been to a political rally, but I was at one this day. Moore's editing and ability to find Bush at his fumbling and ridiculous worst made people laugh and then cheer --- not from humor, though, because the alternative would have been to cry.

Before leaving the theater, I turned to the older lady next to me and asked her, "What did you think?" "It broke my heart." She put her face into her hands, crying.

As I neared the exit door, I asked two young African American males what they thought of the film. "We work for that guy." "Who, Michael Moore?" "No, Bush. We work for Homeland Security. They have us doing b.s."

"So," I asked them, "will you really go to vote in November?"

"Who, for Bush? Not for him, man."

"No," I responded, "will you actually go out and vote, as an American?"

"Heck, yeah!"

Coming out of Theater 15, the line for the next showing of "F 9/11" was queuing up --- roped off to contain the growing numbers.

As I neared the parking garage, I overheard two young men and a young woman talking. One man said, "Who am I going to vote for? Not Bush." The other said, "Yeah, but not Kerry either." The first man said, "Well, there's always Nader."

Before I left the theater, I turned once again to the older lady, and extended my hand. "I am a Catholic sister. I think what we need to do is pray very hard." She took my hand and squeezed it and said, "I'm a Methodist. And yes, let us pray together."

I don't know what else I can say. Once you know Moore's style, you have to decide if you believe him or not. Sure, he pulls some slight-of-hand with the editing, but little in the film surprised me. What was revealing were the connections between Bush and the Saudis and oil. If what Moore says is true, Houston, we, as moral, ethical, caring human beings, have a bigger problem than we ever imagined.

What really troubled me in the film, however, was the nihilistic attitude toward war. In one scene (it looked unedited), Bush is on the golf course and he says about the war, "We have to stop the terrorism…." Then he picks up his golf club and says, almost without missing a breath, "Now watch this drive!" The juxtaposition of our young men and women dying in Iraq, as well as the Iraqi women and children makes for strong viewing. In this scene in particular, Bush seems to convict himself all by himself.

See it, and draw your own conclusions. Now is the time for critical thinking, for inquiry. And Moore's work deserves it as much as the mainstream media.

But then compare them and see what you come up with. While you're at it, read "A Terrible Love of War" by James Hillman (Penguin, 2004).

Is war, like the market, relentless and uncontrollable? Have we no choice?

We always have a choice.

Daughter of St. Paul Sister Rose Pacatte is director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies/West in Culver City. She is also co-author of the "Lights, Camera, Faith!" movie lectionary series.

ANOTHER VIEW

'F 9/11': Sprawling, contentious and short of convincing

By David DiCerto

Michael Moore's feature-length documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" (Lions Gate) is a scathing indictment of the Bush administration's domestic and international policies leading up to and following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Unabashedly biased in its inflammatory assertions, the controversial film is certain to provoke strong reactions from bashers and backers alike of President George W. Bush.

However, in mounting such a one-sided ad hominem attack, director Moore walks a perilous line between investigative journalism and partisan propaganda. And, though artfully packaged and engagingly entertaining, as a political polemic the case made by Moore ultimately falls short of convincing.

The terrain covered by "Fahrenheit 9/11" is as sprawling as it is contentious. The film begins by revisiting the events surrounding the hotly disputed presidential election of 2000, before rushing full throttle into a relentless pillorying of Bush, who is caricatured throughout as a lazy, incompetent buffoon. Moore's livid litany consists mainly of warmed-over accusations, leading him to investigate territory already charted in exposes by Bush insiders like Richard Clarke and Paul O'Neill. While Moore lands some solid body blows in taking Bush to task, his rant offers little in the way of new information or stop-the-presses revelations.

In a nutshell, Moore contends that, after lollygagging it in Crawford, Texas, for most of his first months in office, Bush sought to capitalize on the tragedy of Sept. 11 by fanning the flames of fear in order to stifle dissent and hoodwink the American public into an immoral war with Iraq. Moore also rehashes allegations that Bush both profited from and was influenced by his family's financial ties to prominent Saudi oil sheiks, including members of the ultra-wealthy bin Laden clan.

The film loses focus midway through, unraveling into a shapeless and discursive diatribe which goes everywhere and nowhere. In one sequence he exposes gaping holes in homeland security defenses along the expansive Pacific Northwest coastline. In another he reads the Patriot Act to Congress over the speaker of a Mr. Softee ice cream truck. While such antics make for good entertainment, the accompanying analysis is superficial at best. Its title notwithstanding, while the film has certainly generated much heat, it provides little light.

Using the proverbial hammer, Moore hits viewers over the head with an angry screed of statistics, jettisoning any pretense of impartiality. Nowhere is this lack of objectivity more evident than in his choice of interviewees, all of whom are in lockstep agreement with the film's overriding thesis. Such an unbalanced approach mutes the credibility of his arguments, a pitfall that could have been avoided by a more evenhanded inclusion of voices from both sides of the political divide.

In connecting the dots, the film unfairly subscribes to a blame-Bush-for-everything attitude which fails to take into account wider geopolitical realities, including the foreign-policy missteps of previous administrations.

Moore buttresses his version of the story with carefully selected images and sound bites --- strung together without context or, in some cases, even sources --- which conveniently support his oversimplified conspiracy theories, resulting in a misleading, manipulative and at times self-contradicting interpretation of facts.

However, the film is not entirely without merit. "Fahrenheit 9/11" contains sobering footage which unflinchingly illustrates the obscenity of war, including wince-inducing pictures of dead Iraqi children killed during U.S. air strikes. It also shows the charred remains of American soldiers dragged through the streets of Fallujah, Iraq, by angry mobs.

While such vile imagery is hard to watch, Moore refrains from wallowing in it, using it sparingly to accentuate his points. Perhaps the most indelible images are those of Lila Lipscomb, a patriotic resident of Moore's home town of Flint, Mich., who does a 180-degree turn concerning her views on the war in Iraq after her son is killed in combat. Her heart-wrenching grief transcends all political stripes.

The pugnacious provocateur leavens the weighty subject matter with his signature acerbic wit, including a comedic play on the old TV Western "Bonanza" staring Bush and his cronies. The Midwestern muckraker also stages one of his trademark ambush interviews, asking congressmen if they would like to enlist their children in the armed forces to fight the war they voted for --- a war whose price, Moore argues, is disproportionately paid by the blood of America's poor.

"Fahrenheit 9/11" is by turns outrageous, inflammatory, extremely emotional, at times compelling and occasionally quite funny. Viewers will most likely leave the theater with the same political baggage that they came in with. To critics of Bush, Moore's hoop-jumping is simply preaching to the choir. However, the question remains: Will the choir loft become more crowded as a result?

You can agree or disagree with Moore --- or even have mixed emotions --- but he raises troubling questions that are not easily dismissed. Still, from a filmmaker with his evident passion and satirical skill, one would have expected more.

Due to footage of battlefield violence, graphic images of combat casualties including children, and some rough language, the USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III (adults). The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R (restricted).

David DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.