SICKO — *** — Documentary feature about health care; directed and narrated by Michael Moore; rated PG-13 (drugs, violence, profanity, vulgarity, brief gore, brief partial nudity)

Michael Moore isn't what you'd call a subtle filmmaker. And he's certainly not an unbiased journalist. His one-sided features seem to defy their easy categorization as documentary films.

But there's no denying that he is an effective storyteller. Love him or hate him, Moore does know how to make a point.

Whether you will agree with the point he's making is a different matter.

His latest, the national health-care expose "Sicko," is likely to divide audiences as much as his previous films. But it's also one of his better works. And the fact that the blustery, strident filmmaker spends more time off-screen than usual certainly helps. (In fact, he doesn't show up onscreen until about halfway through the film, and when he does, those segments are the least-effective.)

"Sicko" finds Moore concentrating on health-related horror stories of average Americans, beginning with some who don't have health insurance. Including the tale of one man who stitched up his own wound (which is shown in graphic fashion), and another who was forced to choose between which finger to have surgically reattached.

As expected, he also takes jabs at HMOs and the Bush administration, and he tries to makes a case for socialized medicine. However, he gets into trouble when begins comparing American health care to health care in other countries — most notably Canada, France and Cuba, which have national socialized-medicine programs.

Surely the most controversial of these segments is one in which Moore tries to help a handful of Sept. 11 aid workers now suffering from a variety of ailments. He does so by taking them to Cuba, where they receive needed medical treatments for free.

Is it pro-socialized medicine propaganda? Possibly. But it's not as politically partisan as you might think. Moore also attacks presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for her perceived inconsistencies, such as receiving campaign contributions from medical lobby groups.

"Sicko" is rated PG-13 for drug content (references to various pharmaceuticals, and hypodermic use), newsreel footage of war violence (rioting and warfare), scattered sexual language (slang, as well as one use of the so-called "R-rated" curse word), brief gore, and brief partial male nudity. Running time: 113 minutes.

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