Michael Moore takes on the monster that engorged a nation in Capitalism: A Love Story.

Stressing the need for a separation between big business and state, Moore’s latest is less the beat down on capitalism as promoted, and more a damnation on the partnership between Wall St. and the White House, with the Department of the Treasury portrayed as no more than a cog in the machine which is the financial sector.  

In his exploration of what caused the economic collapse, Moore returns to his hometown of Flint, Michigan, only to find the once glowing city of his youth (and basis for debut film Roger & Me) has been stripped to the bone by vultures who prey on the poor working class, repossess their homes and sell them to greedy investors for scrap.

Moore also joins a group of factory workers who protest the downsizing of their company; tries to wrap his head around the mind boggling mathematical equations of the current economic system; and will have viewers fuming over the discovery of what is known as a “dead peasants” insurance clause, where companies secretly take out life insurance policies on their employees and cash in on their deaths.

Companies such as Citibank and Walmart are named and shamed, while blame is (surprisingly) pointed towards both major American political parties, even taking a stab at the Obama administration by revealing that current Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner is less than adequate in his position.

Tying together the factoids and expert testimonials is Moore’s assertion that the lack of morals in finance was a major part of the economic collapse.

Showing his religious colours as a practicing Catholic, Moore evokes Pope Benedict XVI “Caritas in Veritate” and stresses the need that Judeo-Christian ethics, upon which his country was founded, must play a part in the recovery and stability of the financial sector.

In a time where Bill Maher’s pseudo-intellectual rants about religion are applauded as entertaining fact, Moore’s assertion that religious principals are in fact a source of good is surprisingly refreshing, and unexpected from the left leaning political commentator.

What is not surprising are the smidges of hypocrisy that are part and parcel of any of his movies.

That the most successful of documentarian filmmakers is crying foul while making millions in a pro-capitalist industry is a tad distracting. Furthermore, his assertion that socialist principals should be introduced in the U.S. economy just does not gel, when considering the devastating failure of that fuzzy of economic structures.

And, of course, what isn’t a Michael Moore film without some self gratifying and distracting antics? But, such things should be expected, with Moore now 8 feature films in.

With Capitalism... , Moore has presented his most personal film since his debut, and has proven his colours as a true patriot (not nationalist), whose shame and anger at his once great country has propelled a call to arms. Question is: will anyone answer?