Moore film heats up emotions

Moore film heats up emotions: "DES PERES, Mo. -- Before the movie started, Leslie Hanser prayed.
'I prayed the Lord would open my eyes,' she said.
For months, her son, Joshua, a college student, had been drawing her into political debate. He'd tell her she shouldn't trust President Bush. He'd tell her the Iraq war was wrong. Hanser, a 41-year-old homemaker, pushed back. She defended the president, supported him fiercely.
But Joshua kept at her, until she prayed for help understanding her son's fervor.
Emerging from Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, her eyes wet, Hanser said she at last understood. 'My emotions are just... ' She trailed off, waving her hands to show confusion. 'I feel like we haven't seen the whole truth before.'

Yet its appeal seemed to take some by surprise: In the heavily Hispanic and Asian community of Downey, Calif., southeast of Los Angeles, theater manager William Vasquez was a bit astonished at the line, which was so long that he decided to show the film on two screens simultaneously Friday night.

"I don't know of any documentary that has created this kind of stir," he said, noting that even teenagers seemed "glued to the screen."


By Stephanie Simon
Los Angeles Times