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Russians not impressed by "Fahrenheit 911"
Russia got its first official chance to see Michael Moore's controversial documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" on Thursday, when the film about an unpopular war, terrorism and a president accused of failing to react instantly to an attack that stunned the nation, opened in movie houses across Moscow. The opening was a formality for many, however, since pirate copies had long been on sale and discussion was already ongoing on Kino.ru, a web site for cinephiles. An early showing Thursday at one Moscow theater drew a feeble four people.In a country where kompromat and black PR are part of the daily vocabulary, the sight of Moore so openly mocking U.S. President George W. Bush was, for some viewers, like watching an old film. Reviewers commented on the bluntness of Moore's methods, with Afisha translating them into an easily understandable analogy for Russian audiences. "Crudely speaking, the creator of 'Bowling for Columbine' has turned from Parfyonov into Dorenko," wrote Afisha writer Stanislav Zelvensky, referring to Leonid Parfyonov, the respected documentarian and former host of the current affairs show "Namedni," and one-time ORT host Sergei Dorenko, whose muckraking shows helped bury Yevgeny Primakov and Mayor Yury Luzhkov's presidential ambitions. "I fell asleep halfway through," a user named Slava wrote on Kino.ru. "It is ordinary black PR for zombified people who can't think on their own." Slava focused in particular on Moore's manipulation of footage showing the president receiving news of the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, while reading a book to a classroom of children. Instead of reacting immediately, Bush continued reading, and Moore zooms in on the president for added effect. "What was he supposed to do, run around the room shouting, 'We are lost!' and scare all the children?" Slava wrote. "The film is useful to watch so you don't fall into the same kind of PR trap in your own country." Posted by: tipper 2004-09-25 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=44182 |