Where to Invade Next (2015) – Review

The movie world has its celebrities. Not only actors/actresses, but many movie lovers will also be able to name various directors. When you ask them next to name famous documentary filmmakers, chances are slim they will be able to name any. But there are some well-known ones. Directors like Werner Herzog, Errol Morris, Morgan Spurlock and Louis Theroux are good examples and of course there is also the man behind Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore.

With a bombastic opening, which would fit perfectly in an action or spy movie Moore tells how he was summoned by the army with the question what they should as they haven’t won a war since the second world war. It is up to him to provide an answer to that question and as a “one man army” he invades various countries to see which ideas they have which he can claim as his and take back to America.

 Moore acts, just like Louis Theroux, as someone who isn’t knowledgeable and acts surprised when the people he interviews give him “shocking” information. Whether it’s the fact that Italians have a lot of public holidays, what the role of women in Iceland is or the way Germany treats its nazi past. But Moore knows what he is talking about and through the way he acts he manages to transfer that feeling to the viewer while also informing them. There are times where he is anything but subtle or where he jumps to conclusions (like linking drug laws to modern slavery), but Moore uses humour to make this a very fun documentary to watch.

Although he is searching for ideas to take to the U.S. it’s a film which is interesting for anyone as it shows how specific parts of society could benefit from solutions already being practised in other countries. Whether that’s about school meals, the way prisoners are treated or reforming the school system. Moore knows how to tell a story and with Where to Invade Next he delivers a documentary which should be seen.