Roger & Me

Michael Moore's first film, about the city he was born in. Flint, Michigan stood for years on General Motors plants. The company began closing them in the 1980s and tens of thousands lost their jobs. The city collapsed: houses emptied, shops closed, evictions rose. Moore's aim in the film is simple: speak to Roger Smith, the company's chairman, and take him to Flint to show him the result. The whole structure rests on that pursuit; Moore walks into headquarters, tries to get into meetings, and is removed each time. In between is life in the city: days spent with a deputy serving eviction notices, the temporary work people find after losing their jobs, attempts to save the city through tourism. The most argued-about scene is an interview with a woman who raises rabbits and sells them as pets or as meat, shown without a cut. The documentary also drew criticism when it appeared: the order in which events are told does not match the real chronology, and that was the beginning of a continuing argument about Moore's method. One of the turning points of its form for anyone who likes documentary and narratives built on class. For a viewer expecting an impartial presentation, Moore is inside the story and hides his view not at all.