I went to see Michael Moore’s latest movie Fahrenheit 9/11 on Friday. And it was everything I hoped it could be. Every American should see this movie. For anti-Bush people it is a strong verification of their beliefs. For swing voters it is a powerful argument for why we cannot allow Bush to serve a second term. And for Bush supporters it is a glaring look at the consequences of their actions.

Unfortunately, many conservatives are unlikely to watch the film. Even before the film opened there were several attempts by the right to prevent people from seeing it, including a disgusting campaign started by Move America Forward to harrass theaters that planned to show it. Apparently, conservatives’ beliefs have such a solid foundation that mere exposure to disagreement causes it to fall apart. Yet in spite of Disney’s attempts to block the film, and baseless attacks by conservatives, and campaigns to censor the movie, and threats to pull advertisements for the film off the air, Fahrenheit 9/11 finally made it to theaters, making over $8 million in its first day.

The movie starts off showing Bush’s connections to Saudis Arabia and how the government helped several members of the bin Laden family leave the United States in the days following September 11. Moore shows how Bush continued with his photo opportunity in Florida for five minutes after he was told the second tower had been hit. Here Moore offers an interesting analysis Bush, the great leader. For the first time in his life he is faced with a crucial choice with nobody there to tell him what to do–not his dad, not Cheney, not anybody in his cabinet. And so he sits there, doing nothing for several minutes while people die in New York.

Fahrenheit 9/11 also reiterates the fact that the Bush administration was not concerned with fighting terrorists, instead focusing on how to use this event to attack Iraq. The war in Afghanistan only happened because it was obvious to everybody that al Qaida was responsible for the attack. At one point in the film it is mentioned that fewer troops were sent into Afghanistan than there are police in Manhattan.

With all the controversy surrounding the film, I was keeping an ear out for anything that hinted at falsehood. But I was expecting it to be much like Bowling for Columbine, in which the biggest complaint was that Moore has an opinion that he is trying to give instead of simply rattling off a list of facts like a textbook. Oddly enough, most of these same people are perfectly fine with conservative political pundits like Sean Hannity giving their opinions. Apparently, this is only a bad thing if you’re a liberal.

As in Bowling, most of the film is him giving his opinion, presenting facts to support his conclusion. There are no lies. It is quite clear in the movie what are facts and what are his own opinions. There is only one point that jumped out at me as I watched. When talking about Iraq, Moore describes it as a country that never attacked America, never threatened to attack America, and never killed an American citizen. This could be seen as deceptive. As for the first two, it depends on what one means by “attack.” In the sense of starting a war, this is true. Iraq never attacked us. We attacked them. In the sense of individual attacks, this is false. Iraqi forces attacked American forces several times during and after the Gulf War. As for the claim that Iraq never killed an American citizen, I have been unable to find out whether it is true or not. However, I suspect it is quite possible that Iraq did kill an American citizen at some point.

Still, the movie is full of those humorous moments Moore is known for. He uses an ice cream truck to read the USA Patriot Act on Capitol Hill to members of Congress who voted for the bill without ever reading it. Toward the end he approaches several members of Congress to try to get them to enlist their children in the military. One scene shows Bush on the golf course saying, “I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. Thank you. Now watch this drive.” But probably the best moments in the film are the dramatic ones. Moore shows how Iraqi mothers grieve just like American mothers when their children are killed in war. Indeed, Moore has a gift demonstrated in Bowling and even more clear in Fahrenheit 9/11 for creating a film that can have the audience balled over in laughter one moment and moved to tears the next.

It was quite clear watching Fahrenheit 9/11 that Moore has become very comfortable with the art of film making. The way he uses images and sounds, pulling together different elements demonstrates a truly masterful understanding of the artform. Even without the political message, I could recommend this movie to somebody simply for it being a well made film. Fahrenheit 9/11 is without a doubt one of the most beautiful pieces of film making I have seen in a long time.