The United States government forbids its citizens from getting on a plane and flying to Havana, Cuba. Nevertheless, Michael Moore and a group of New York City high school students were recently on separate trips to the Caribbean never-never land.

The filmmaker traveled to the island on a low-profile trip to get some footage for his new movie "Sicko," about health care in the US.

Moore is known for his comical but hard-hitting documentaries aimed at exposing fraud, greed, corruption and pretension. He was able to get a special US Treasury Dept. License to travel to Cuba as a journalist. Such permission is denied most citizens.

The director hopes to premiere "Sicko" at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival in May.

His Oscar winning "Bowling for Columbine" (2002), about the tragedy at a Colorado High School, was back on people's minds Monday when a man opened fire on students at Virginia Tech University killing at least 32 and wounding dozens more.

"Bowling for Columbine" showed how easy it is to purchase powerful weapons in the United States, a policy steadfastly supported by the current administration.

Moore's last major film, "Fahrenheit 9/11" (2004), gave viewers a critical look at the people running the United States, their close associates, their self-serving response to the 9/11 crisis and the real roots of the war on Iraq.