Michael Moore’s Sicko was banned in Cuba:
The revelation, contained in a confidential US embassy cable released by WikiLeaks, is surprising, given that the film attempted to discredit the US healthcare system by highlighting what it claimed was the excellence of the Cuban system…
Castro’s government apparently went on to ban the film because, the leaked cable claims, it “knows the film is a myth and does not want to risk a popular backlash by showing to Cubans facilities that are clearly not available to the vast majority of them.” …
But according to the FSHP, the only way a Cuban can get access to the hospital [featured in the film] is through a bribe or contacts inside the hospital administration. “Cubans are reportedly very resentful that the best hospital in Havana is ‘off-limits’ to them,” the memo reveals.
I’m shocked — shocked — that a Michael Moore film would misrepresent the truth to make a political point!
UPDATE (James Joyner): Via Glenn Greenwald, I see that Michael Moore is actively refuting this report.
[T]he entire nation of Cuba was shown the film on national television on April 25, 2008! The Cubans embraced the film so much so it became one of those rare American movies that received a theatrical distribution in Cuba. I personally ensured that a 35mm print got to the Film Institute in Havana. Screenings of ‘Sicko’ were set up in towns all across the country. In Havana, ‘Sicko’ screened at the famed Yara Theater.
Later in the article, he provides quite a number of hyperlinks which demonstrate either that the film was widely shown in Cuba or the Cuban government really, really wants people to think it was. The former strikes me as more plausible.
