Michael Moore in TrumpLand (2016) Reviews

• Good to see some contemplation taking place in America.

  hdonkers2016-10-31

  In the mids of the race to the bottom in the unfolding of this election campaign this statement sure is a breath of fresh air. You may not, and do not have to agree with Michael Moore's viewpoints to see that he does manage to get some historical and future perpectives, a sense of common ground and good humor in the room. Polarisation is such a horrendous side-effect of (bad) election campaigns and defusing it in the heat of the moment is very, very tricky. With commentary from the mainstream media at kindergarten level we need Michaels kind of clowning to ridicule the court and help tie odds and options together. Clever and entertaining. But by all means, don't take his word for it...make up your own mind!

• Moore at his kindest and gentlest

  eyeforbeauty2016-10-20

  This is Michael Moore at his very best—very thoughtful and penetrating, and hardworkingly committed to fostering understanding of some of our fundamental political challenges. I felt he did an excellent job of presenting the view that Trump's rise on the national political scene is a warranted but ultimately very destructive reaction to the neglect and abandonment of countless Americans by our economic and social order. "Michael Moore in TrumpLand" is full of genuine humanity and surprisingly gentle humor. I'm doubtful Moore's efforts in making this film stand much chance of having an impact on the electoral outcome, but I still think it's great that he has given us an offering of such quality. I must say on an anecdotal note that upon being re-exposed to typical TV coverage of the election after having left a screening of this movie, I felt as though I'd gone from a sane place to a place of true barbarity. (I was really, truly surprised to find how super-barbaric what has grown all-too-familiar of late suddenly seemed.)

• He's with Her

  wes-connors2016-10-25

  This is not like producer-director Michael Moore's other, award-winning documentaries. While the opening is cinematic, the bulk of this material could best be described as Mr. Moore performing "stand-up comedy" for a movie theater audience. He sits down, too, on a sparse stage set. His language is frequently vulgar. There are a few interludes that include video, tape and photographs of 2016's US Presidential candidates Donald J. Trump and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Moore appears to have done this film quickly, with his "TrumpLand" being Wilmington, Ohio. His initial aim is obvious; of course, Moore is working to defeat Mr. Trump. Anyone who thinks "Michael Moore in TrumpLand" is going to support Trump doesn't know Moore. He is not going to give you a "fair and balanced" view of Clinton and Trump. Moore is an admittedly liberal (or progressive) filmmaker and presents himself honestly... What may be surprising is Moore's persuasive argument for Ms. Clinton. This is a film about her, not him. Moore's conversion includes his sometimes mixed feelings about Clinton and her long biography. Interestingly, he enlarges old photographs of Hillary Rodham as set backdrops. After all the demonic contemporary photos and older "hippie" pictures on social media, it startling to see Hillary was quite a beautiful young woman... The main point of "Michael Moore in TrumpLand" is to garner votes for Hillary Clinton and against Donald Trump. No surprise, there. Moore treats his audience with calculated respect. As aforementioned, he is honest about his personal views and how they developed. He hopes Clinton will be more liberal in office than most assume, as was the case with the present Pope Francis. However she governs, Moore prefers Clinton to Trump... Moore directly appeals to older white males who have suffered economically and must now live in a county where they are a dwindling minority. The voters who believe President Obama is a Muslim born in Africa, and Hillary Clinton is the Anti-Christ, are not going to be convinced. Moore amusingly siphons those voters off and goes for the voter he believes might vote for Clinton, after a persuasive argument. He separates the bigots with visual allegories by "building a wall" around Mexicans (Guatemalans count, too!) in the audience and separating Muslins into a section guarded by a symbolic drone. Moore appears to have researched his target voter very well and the film shows heads nodding in agreement. Those nods mean the staged and directed voters on screen were convinced. We will have to see if real voters agree on November 8, when the new President wins election. Everyone should get out and vote. ******* Michael Moore in TrumpLand (10/18/2016) Michael Moore ~ Michael Moore, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump

• A neutral voice from Europe

  Frank_19792016-11-02

  About myself, I'm a 37 year old man from Germany. I'm following the US-Election since the primaries, because the President of America has a big impact on all our lives IMO. My personal views could be called moderate/left-wing republican if I had to compare them to our system (that would be the conservative party in our land). Although I agree with many views of Michael Moore and watched all his documentaries, I dislike his one-sideness, lack of context and over-dramatization. I decided to write my first review here because I could add some neutral opinion I think. After reading the other reviews, I noticed that they are mostly influenced by the voting views of the writers and not really about this documentary itself. Of course a Clinton follower will vote it high and a Trump follower will vote it down. Now about the film. Yes this is an ad to generate Cliniton voters, I won't deny that, but it is so much more if you look closer. Normally Michael Moore used to just bring up facts and stories in his documentaries and let you draw your own conclusions. And what I didn't like in these previous pieces, was that he'd always shown only one side of the story and dramatized it. But in this case he shared more of his own views and conclusions and did that in a way that you really connected to it. I like that Moore didn't attack Trump directly once. I can't stand this personalized attacking and all the lying in this campaign anymore, from BOTH sides. So it is very refreshing to see someone, who try's to win over people with logic and facts instead of badmouthing the other side. Many reviewers wrote that he's one-sided and let Clinton shine in to good a light. But he is not a reporter or a political analyst or whatever. He's a filmmaker who shares his views with an audience! And IMO he doesn't glorifies Clinton, he just reveals some facts and truth about her that are liked to be forgotten. But if this had been only about Clinton or Trump or the campaign, I would probably had given it a 6-7 and begone. What really got me, was when he spoke about Americas current state of mind and the past. I was totally moved when he read his notes on the desk. It was so much truth about the anger, the frustration and the feeling... no the wanting to send a *fu.. you* up to the establishment. I'm not an American and I just get the news from CNN here, but in Europe we have many similar problems. Politicians that only work for them self to stay in Office, raising gaps between poor and rich and so on. Maybe it's not as bad as in the US, I'm in no position to compare that, but I can relate to the general mood. Like with Donald Trump, we have many extreme party's and politicians on the rise all over Europe. And they also try to use our fear and anger to overthrow the establishment. After hearing Moores words in this moment all I could think about was, that the same is happening to us and we should do something about it. And there were so much more, about the change in power regarding the genders, about decency and compassion in society, about learning from the past and accept changes. I advise everyone to watch this film twice. And the second time try to blend out all the usual rhetoric and jokes and concentrate on the parts when he gets serious. There is so much truth and emotion in these moments, just try to forget that this is a campaign-ad and try to get the story behind it. Also the moment about the Healthcare issue totally shocked me. Don't get me wrong, I knew about the private payment and insurance in the States, but I never believed it to be so extreme. I had to watch "Sicko" right after this to get an incling of what he's talking about, and after this I googled the story about Hillary and the universal health care. After that I was shocked even more. As someone who lives in a country, where the best medical care is free and always available for everyone, I can't fathom to live in a world like this. But I don't want to discuss this matter here, just say that this moment got me even more after I learned all that. I have to give this a 10 just for the moments when he really got me, and there where several. They overshadowed all the campaigning, if you really listen to it with an open mind.

• Michael Moore is so FAKE

  gingerkimmi2017-03-11

  As many people may know that Micheal Moore was slamming Clinton when she was going against Bernie. He later changed his tune as soon as Bernie was out. So when I watched this movie I was thinking to myself how he was advocating and trying to sell Hillary Clinton to people. He really mislead people in this movie that have not educated themselves on how the Media and everything else were painting Trump as this "Evil Dictator". So by Micheal Moore going from slamming Hillary to becoming her "spokesperson" makes me think he is fake. He gives this persona off that he is the "Working People's" documentary film maker. But what I noticed is that he was doing the exact thing that everyone is tired of. He is a super rich guy that has made his money off of capitalism, but lectures others not to build walls while he lives in a huge private mansion with "Walls". I think this election cycle I have seen through his mess. I know that he is just like all the other Hollywood people and I will no longer watch any movies of his.