Life Under Mike

I first saw this movie on the big screen where there was a line up around the block. Then I rented it on video and found it just as powerful the second time around. What amazes me about Life Under Mike is that it doesn't tell me anything I don't already know and yet it still packs an emotional punch. A testament to the director. The movie looks at what has happened in Ontario at the hands of our then Premier Mike Harris. But you could take Harris out of the equation and replace him with any right wing zealot and the movie would still work. That's because it mostly concentrates on the people hurt by this move towards deregulation, welfare reform and corporate tax cuts. And that is it's brilliance. For the first time really we get to see inside the homeless persons shanty, behind the striker picket line even inside a plant take over. The movie allows all those people to speak with loud clear voices.It also has a cool soundtrack with music by Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Definitely worth a see.

This movie is more than just a documentary on politics in Canada, it is a powerful look at what kind of society we want to build. Even in the U.S. the issues it talks about, democracy and how the global corporate agenda impacts on poverty, are relevant. I saw it in Boston and found it extremely moving. Everyone concerned about todays world should see it.

A powerful and at times poetic movie that really opened my eyes to the damage of globalization and changed the way I look at my own country Canada. It blends humor - a la Michael Moore and his patented guerrilla in your face investigations - with touching interviews with people living on the streets or engaged in activism. A must see for anyone interested in how Canada has been changed by the corporate agenda.