Crowds see FAHRENHEIT 9/11 in nation's capitol

U.S. National - AFP


Movie theaters fill in Washington to see Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11"

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WASHINGTON, (AFP) - Crowds in the US capital have flocked to the opening of Michael Moore's film "Fahrenheit 9/11," some to get fired up about ousting President George W. Bush (news - web sites) in the November 2 election, others to see what the controversy is all about.

Nurse Alexandra Moss, 31, made a point of seeing the vehemently anti-Bush documentary as a contribution to help defeat the Republican president in November. She even brought her mother to see the film. "I want to see Bush out of office," she said.

Lynda Bond, 47, a fervent Republican whose husband is an elected official, came mainly to confirm that the incendiary movie was nothing but a string of lies.

"I wanted to see it to understand what everyone was talking about," Bond said. "It is extremely misleading. I bought a ticket for another movie and then came to see this one. I wouldn't give Michael Moore my money."

Impatient viewers in Washington, one of the most politicized cities in the United States, invaded movie halls as the movie opened Friday. At a 14-screen multiplex theater in the Washington neighborhood of Georgetown, in the heart of the US capital, "Fahrenheit 9/11" was being shown on three screens. Tickets had been sold out for days, and some people were forced to sit on the ground.

The movie begins with the November 2000 US presidential election. For a few minutes Democrat Al Gore (news - web sites) appears to be winning . . . but he then concedes victory to Republican Bush. The camera pauses on Bush, who laughs forcefully. The audience howls with laughter.

Then there is footage of Bush on vacation at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Critics say that he is spending too much time away from the White House. "I'm working on some things," Bush awkwardly tells television news reporters, stumbling on his words three times. Another burst of laughter follows.

Moore's humor doesn't always hit the mark, and his line of reasoning at times seems hollow, even a touch demagogic. But the audience here loves it.

When the movie turns the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States, the screen simply goes dark, with the sound effects -- the explosions, the cries of anguish, the chaos -- allowed to tell the story.

Soon after an Iraqi woman is seen pleading to Allah after her uncle's home is destroyed in a US bombing. "What have they done?" she cries.

In another teary scene, the mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq (news - web sites) sobs while talking about her son's death and her doubts about the reasons for going to war.

The crowd breaks out in applause as the movie ends.

Nadia MacFarlane, 31, a pre-medical student at Howard University, liked the movie. "It's a good reinforcement that you're not crazy, that (what I think), it's true," she said.

Robin Presta, 25, who works for a non-profit organization, wiped her eyes with a tissue throughout the film. "I was definitely moved," she said. "I was impatient to see it and thought there would be a good crowd out tonight.