Michael Moore's showing in Show Me State

For Allemann, a family physician and pacifist who is deeply opposed to many Bush administration policies, "It was lovely to have something to do that was hopeful." Determined not to let the effort end there, the individuals formed a group. They traded contact information and volunteered to take part in MoveOn's national voter registration drive July 11.

She's also trying to find ways to bring the movie to spots in rural Missouri that might not have movie theaters. Of course, there's no guarantee that anti-Bush voters will vote Democratic. Lissa Schwach, a social worker who is anti-Bush, was already sure she wouldn't vote for the incumbent when she went to the movie at the upscale Plaza Frontenac mall in west suburban St. Louis - aka Bush country - last Sunday night. "Bush is not an option," she says, but she's not sure Kerry is the answer.

Brian Brandsmeier comes from a conservative family in Iowa. He voted for Bush in 2000, but says he changed his mind about the president recently while studying in Norway. "I was in the direction of not voting for Bush," he says. "Then I saw the movie and I'm sure."

Any doubts were erased when he heard a grieving mother read a letter received posthumously from her soldier son, who just before his death in Iraq wrote of his disdain for Bush. But what will Mr. Brandsmeier do with that emotion? "I'm going to spread the word," he says, adding that despite the movie's bias he believed the information was true and could be used to sway undecided voters.

By Tuesday, the movie was still doing enough business to fill three screens at the Chase Park Plaza Cinemas in the heart of St. Louis. Operator Harmon Moseley, a Democrat, was elated both by the business coming in and the message going out. He estimated 8,000 people saw the movie in the first three days.

For Philip Barron, seeing the "movie felt like it was an act of defiance itself." He went opening night and sent Mr. Moseley a thank-you note for showing the film. He was unimpressed by the conspiracy theories but he left the movie determined to send money to Kerry.

L.J. Dixon wasn't sure what he would do with his anger. "I'm a Democrat. If I wasn't a Democrat, I would be after that movie," he said as he left a Tuesday matinee. "It should make a difference [in the election]. If it doesn't, there's something wrong."

But Patrick Kennedy, a senior at Clemson University, walked into the same showing planning to vote for Bush when he casts his first presidential ballot. He left the same way, unswayed by Moore's hyperbole, although he says the results may be different for undecided voters. "I think it will sway more towards Kerry," he said.

None of the St. Louis theaters will get a cent from high school teacher Terri Schnitzer, an independent who leans Democratic but hasn't made up her mind. "It bothers me because the average man may not know the whole story, and he [Moore] is playing on your emotions," says Ms. Schnitzer. "It wouldn't affect me personally. Would it affect others? Maybe if they were on the fence."

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