The title "Where to Invade Next" is catchy. In the current political climate of the United States, where election fever has gripped the country, it is obvious that Michael Moore's latest film alludes to the contemporary political scenario - the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. While Republicans and Democrats fight over their completely different ideologies and foreign policy plans, Michael Moore presents us with a timely and brilliant satire. In this film, Moore does not invade any middle-eastern country with an army in search of elusive weapons of mass destruction or to rescue the citizens of a third world country from an evil dictator like Saddam Hussein. Moore has a more positive agenda. He 'invades' developed countries in Europe to steal their best ideas in the hope of replicating them in his own country, the United States of America.

Just like his other films, Moore is the protagonist of Where to Invade Next, and he travels from one country to another in his casual style - sneakers, baggy jeans, messy hair and of course, his trademark baseball cap. This time though, he is armed with an American flag, which he plants ceremoniously at any place where he finds a great idea. Most of the scenes shown seem exaggerated, but that is deliberate. By portraying cherry-picked examples and visuals, Moore has created a film that is witty and clever enough to make us laugh, but at the same time conveys a powerful message that America has lost its envious title of "the land of opportunity." Far from coming across as an unpatriotic film made by a left-wing, political activist and filmmaker, as some right-wing critics might point out, this documentary in my opinion, is made by someone who deeply cares about his country and wants to "make America great again!" Although his idea of how to make America great again differs completely from what Donald Trump means by the same phrase - which happens to be Trump's campaign slogan. Moore is simply unwilling to ignore the flaws in the system and determined to advocate for the rights of all American citizens. 

One can argue that Europe has its fair share of woes, which includes the recent Syrian refugee crisis. However, Moore admits the purpose of this particular film was to "pick the flowers and not the weeds." He visits Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, Norway, Slovenia, Finland, Tunisia and Iceland and chooses different examples from each country. Government mandated paid vacations, longer maternity leave, free higher education, better public school system, policy on drug trafficking, justice system, job satisfaction are among the examples he highlights. Moore compares these issues between the US and the European countries and as the viewers follow his journey, it becomes obvious from what we see that life is indeed better in Europe.

One of the most prominent examples comes from Germany, where workers at the famous Faber-Castell pencil factory seem perfectly satisfied with their jobs and are sent to spas to rejuvenate when they feel overstressed. Besides the job satisfaction, Moore points out Germans are acutely aware of the country's infamous Nazi past, thanks to the public monuments and signs that act as constant reminders of the Holocaust and Hitler's brutal dictatorship. Moore can't help drawing a comparison with his own country. In America, there is a tendency to underplay the savage treatment of Native Americans and African-American slaves by white settlers.

He also shows the strong leadership of women in some European nations. For example in Iceland, when the top-ranking bank officials responsible for the country's financial collapse between 2008-2011 were sent to prison instead of given bailout options, it was the women leaders in politics and business who guided the country back to economic stability. He makes one detour from Europe and visits the North African country of Tunisia. Moore was impressed to see that even in a Muslim country, under a conservative right-wing regime, women won the right to free health care services, including abortion. He asked a Tunisian woman journalist's opinion about why she thinks America doesn't learn from foreign countries. The woman had one of the best quotes in the film. She quips that while the rest of the world knows about American culture, Americans are not interested in learning about what's happening in the rest of the world. Moore's comparison between the role of women in Iceland and Tunisia, with the sad reality in his own country where Planned Parenthood is under vicious attacks, might lead one to think that he is an ardent supporter of the Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.  Moore, is actually a staunch supporter of the other Democratic presidential candidate - Bernie Sanders. 

When you see the film, it is apparent that the goals Bernie Sanders wants to achieve, such as, free college tuition, health care for all, regulating big banks, eliminating income inequality and racial injustice, are all examples portrayed in Moore's film. Both of them want the same things for their country - Moore is Sander's slightly goofy, outspoken alter ego. Moore believes that Sanders, with his call for a political revolution, is exactly what America needs to generate excitement and fix the country's current problems. Sanders won the support of a large number of unlikely, diverse US citizens, including young people from across the country. These are college students who are fed up of being burdened with student loans as soon as they start their professional lives.  

Interestingly, throughout the film, Moore realises from comments made by interview subjects that a lot of progressive ideas adopted in European countries actually originated in the US. He can't help wonder, why these policies are not implemented in his own country. The film ends with a poignant scene - it is the image of the collapse of the Berlin Wall that makes Moore think great revolutions start with determined people who are desperate to change the faulty system that doesn't care for the underprivileged people of the society. 

In an election where the main Republican candidates - billionaire Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz - are blatantly promoting hatred and racism among US citizens, Where to Invade Next is like a wake-up call for Americans to take control of the general election in November and select the best president for the United States. 

The writer is a freelance journalist living in USA.