Sicko (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Sicko |
| Original title | Sicko |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2007 |
| length | 123 minutes |
| Age rating |
FSK 6 JMK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Michael Moore |
| script | Michael Moore |
| production | Michael Moore |
| music | different artists |
Sicko is a documentary by the American director Michael Moore . He deals with the grievances of the US health care system . The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007 - for the third time in a row for Michael Moore.
The German theatrical release was on October 11, 2007.
Summary
Sicko addresses the problems of the health system in the United States, which is dominated by the interests of health insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies . The key message here is that state health care is preferable to the current US model, as this only aims at maximizing profits for insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies.
United States of America Healthcare
→ Main article: United States Health System
Individual reports from people denied treatment
On February 3, 2006, Moore asked readers of his blog to email him their "personal horror stories" from the US health care sector. He received 3,700 emails within 24 hours and 25,000 at the end of the week. The film took up the following cases, among others:
- A man used a circular saw to saw off the tips of his middle and ring fingers on one hand while working at home. He had no insurance and had limited financial resources. He had to decide whether the hospital should reattach the middle finger for $ 60,000 or the ring finger for $ 12,000. He chose the ring finger for financial reasons.
- In one case, the insurance company Cigna Healthcare approved a cochlear implant for a little girl who was born with an acute hearing impairment, but only for the left ear. Cigna argued that two-ear surgery was "experimental". When the father Moore reported his case and let the insurer know, the latter reversed his decision.
- A woman had to pay for an ambulance ride after a car accident because she did not tell her insurance company that she needed medical care before she passed out.
- Also shown is the widow of a man who died of kidney cancer after his insurance company rejected a possibly life-saving bone marrow transplant .
- A woman's insurance company refused to pay after an operation because the woman did not state on her application form that she had previously had a fungal infection .
- Homeless patients have been kicked out of Los Angeles hospitals after receiving initial medical treatment.
Reports from inside the insurance companies
Some former employees of insurance companies are interviewed and describe the shady practices of their former employers. The more patients the doctors turn away, the better their reputation .
One scene shows an excerpt from a speech given to a congress in 1996. Dr. Linda Peeno, a former employee of Humana Inc. Insurance , says her primary job was to save the company money. "I denied the necessary surgery to a man," she said, referring to a decision she made in 1987. According to an article in the New York Times , her statement was "widely retold over the years". According to a Humana spokesman, the case was about whether a man had insurance that included a heart transplant, and Peeno correctly concluded that the insurance company did not have to pay for the treatment.
Also interviewed in the film is Lee Eine, whose job at one of the major insurance companies (not named in the film) was to retrospectively investigate insurance applications. One's job was to go through major claims to find evidence of hidden pre-existing illnesses. He says it was irrelevant whether the applicant was intent on deception or not, as the company only wanted excuses to "avoid paying claims."
Lobbyists and politicians in Washington
The film also describes the connection between lobby groups like the PhRMA , the largest and most influential lobbyist bloc in Washington, DC , and political groups. Hillary Clinton is therefore the second largest recipient of campaign donations from the health industry. Clinton's friend Harvey Weinstein , whose company was financing the film, asked him to remove the scene from the film, but Moore refused.
Health systems of other countries
The US system will first be compared with that of Canada , that of the United Kingdom and that of France . The latter in particular has comprehensive and free health care for its citizens. This is followed by an interview with Tony Benn , the most well-known British social politician for decades, who had given up his inheritance title "Lord Stansgate", and Americans who live in these countries.
Moore also rides on a French 24-hour home call service called SOS Médecins, where doctors visit their patients at home. The doctor drives around Paris at night and takes “orders” like a taxi driver. Moore finds out that the French government provides helpers for mothers with young children who do everyday chores for them.
Some volunteer rescue workers who did rescue work during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 and who subsequently fell ill with a number of medical problems, are interviewed. The government refuses to cover the treatment costs for the diseases that have caused them, as they only volunteered to clean up.
As the US government claims to provide full medical treatment for the alleged "enemy fighters" in the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base detention center , Moore chartered three boats and sailed from Miami to Cuba with the sick volunteers and a few other sick people featured in the film . There he used a megaphone in front of the Guantanamo camp to demand that the helpers be treated according to the same standards as for the inmates of the camp. When there was no answer and a siren was switched on, Moore and his companions left the bay.
The group continues to Havana , where they receive free medical treatment. Moore also interviews Che Guevara's daughter , a pediatrician. It turned out that an asthma spray costs 120 dollars in the USA, but can be obtained in pharmacies in Cuba for 5 cents.
At the end of the film, Moore gives an example of “being considerate of one another, whatever the differences”. The operator of the largest anti-Moore website had announced that it would close its offer because his wife was ill and otherwise he could not afford the treatment. Moore then mailed him a check for $ 12,000.
Reviews
The film received a lot of positive reviews. After the film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival , Variety described Sicko as “a poignant and entertaining analysis of the American healthcare industry,” so he could do well internationally. Moore was nevertheless quoted as saying, "I know about the storm that awaits me when I return to the United States."
Roger Friedman, who rated the film for Fox News , wrote, “Filmmaker Michael Moore's brilliant and uplifting new documentary, 'Sicko,' is about both real and perceived flaws in the US healthcare system. This time the controversial documentary filmmaker really seems to let the topic do the talking, showing a new maturity. "
The North American premiere of Sicko was held on June 8, 2007 in London, Ontario , at the Silver City Cinema in Masonville Place - in the presence of Moore. Sicko shows patients from the London, Ontario area.
Sicko received a positive rating of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes . The general consensus about Sicko describes the film as "devastating, compelling, and extremely entertaining".
Copies and box office results contrary to copyright
Although the theatrical release of the film was set for June 29, 2007, the film could already be downloaded in the first half of June 2007 via file sharing networks on the Internet. Moore, who previously gave his support for Internet downloads, testified that he did not publish the film on the Internet himself. An investigation has been held into the source of the video on the Internet.
Despite the forbidden pre-release the film made considerable sales at the box office: Although only 441 cinemas showed the film in the first week, it made it to number 9 in the weekly charts. The revenue per theater averaged $ 10,204. This sales was exceeded during this period only by Pixar's Ratatouille , which grossed 11,987 dollars per cinema.
Sicko's total box office income was around $ 36 million. Of that, $ 24.5 million was raised in the United States itself. The production cost was about nine million dollars.
Awards
- 2007: Australian Film Critics Association 2007 Film Award for best documentary.
- 2008: Nomination for the Academy Award of Merit ( Oscar ) in the category " Best Documentary "
- 2008: Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for Best Documentary
Web links
- Sicko in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- MySpace webpage of the film
- Sicko? The truth about the US healthcare system at The Independent (English)
- An Hour with Michael Moore on "Sicko" Interview at Democracy Now! (English)
- Wingman Magazine - Sicko
- Reviews
Individual evidence
- ↑ Age rating for Sicko . Youth Media Commission .
- ↑ IMDb: Sicko (2007) - Release dates
- ↑ Send Me Your Health Care Horror Stories ... an appeal from Michael Moore ( Memento of the original from June 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d e f Cohn, Jonathan, "It's no fun to agree with Michael Moore / Shticko" ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Article in The New Republic
- ↑ Michael Moore's Shticko
- ↑ Washington Post: "Moore Says Weinstein Wanted Clinton Scene Cut"
- ↑ Moore unveils Sicko at Cannes ( Memento of the original from June 3, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Review: Sicko
- ↑ salon.com: Sicko
- ↑ 'Sicko' shows Michael Moore's Maturity as a Filmmaker ( Memento of the original from May 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Pirated "Sicko" surfaces on YouTube
- ↑ 'Sicko' leaks have studios crying malpractice ( Memento from August 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b Sicko . In: BoxOfficeMojo.com. Retrieved March 1, 2010.
