Nutshell Analysis:

72% of the Peanut - Exceptional documentary: Serious and well made documentary on the post 9/11 war with Bush and his administration in general.

25% of the Peanut - Silly Bush, public manipulations are for fascists: Comedic relief perfectly timed and tasteful, while each having it's own point to make, relieved the tension at the right times, and made running time enjoyable as well as meaningful.

3% of the Peanut - Come, title, please!: The title sequence was an impressive concept that really struck me, but was a bit too long.

Total: 97% incredibly powerful, and perfectly and unobtrusively humorous, portrayal of unfortunate reality. 3% of its only major fault, a title sequence that was simply too long.

Full Review:

Micheal Moore releases his latest documentary probing Bush, his administration's actions, and the war in Iraq as a result of 9-11. It's a little odd that the film's title reads 'Fahrenheit 9/11', yet has little to do directly with the tragedy of 9/11 itself. But, at the same time, the film has everything to do with this American tragedy of terrorism. The film plays through with power, skill, and intelligence to become an impressive work, even if you don't agree with what he says through it.

Before I get into the content, I should mention the cinematic qualities that made it exceptional right from the start. I was impressed by the skill shown in the direction and editing before the opening credits even finished. The film opened with a narration, a story of the current President Bush and the corruption of the presidential electoral process, not to mention the media, and continued to include up through the care-free days of his leisurely pre-9/11 presidency. It opened the film with both sharp wit and sharp criticism, bringing up points and events the ordinary person may have never known occurred. It also set the entire film up, and did so in a humorously poignant way that eased us into the film rather than throwing us into emotional upheaval.

Then the opening credits rolled in, showing the various players in the Bush administration being prepared to speak to the nation as if being prepared to play a role. We see them in the final moments before the cameras are to switch on, just as we mind our way through the final moments that is the title sequence, waiting for the act the administration is about to play following 9-11. Perhaps for too long, but the sequence remained extremely effective, quiet (but not silent), and is once again setting up the statements of the film in a visually metaphoric way.

The screen fades, and the genius of the film continues. The screen remains black as the sound comes in, and we all know what it is. Chaos, sounds of people, and then an impact. We never even hear anyone refer to what has just happened, but we know. We wait, listening in the darkness, listening as the events unfold without seeing or being told about a single thing. Eventually, the screen fades back in as we see people on the street, see papers and rubble and dust, we see sadness, shock, a distress that people don't know what to do or feel except everything horrible at once. We see ordinary people on the street, but we never see a single shot of the event, or hear a single word of what is happening. We never do throughout the entire film, not a single shot of those towers before, during, or after the attack. But nothing could have been more powerful or important as that. It not only tries to show that it is not exploiting the event and footage, but creates a much more potent effect. It also, and maybe more importantly, shows the real focus of Moore's documentary - the ordinary people affected and involved, not the events.