Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? (2008)
Directed by Morgan Spurlock
Written by Documentary
Starring Morgan Spurlock
Release Date April 18th, 2008
Published April 25th, 2008
Morgan Spurlock is funny, thoughtful and charming. You have to appreciate the career he has crafted for himself off of one rather thin idea. Super Size Me was an ingenious bit of zeitgeist grabbing and self promotion. You can argue the films overall value as a documentary but it was undeniably clever. His latest effort is entirely different in topic but not tone. Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden? is a jokey exploration of the post 9/11 mind in both the middle east and in the mind of a Brooklyn filmmaker with a baby on the way.
With his wife Alexandria about to give birth to their first child, Morgan Spurlock is seized with the idea of the world he is bringing his baby into. With so much turmoil in the middle east what can one documentary filmmaker do to make the world safe for his wife and child. Morgan Spurlock's idea? Find the world's most well known terrorist.
Traveling to the middle east, Spurlock first travels to Egypt to gauge the mindset of alleged American allies. He finds a thoughtful cast of people on the streets who have nice things to say about the American people but hate American policy. The trip to Egypt is revealing in how though Egypt is our ally and is seen as a progressive state their President Mubarek doesn't have trouble being reelected year after year, mostly because like many leaders in the area he uses the state to quiet dissent.
From Egypt he travels to Israel and Palestine and spends a few harrowing moments visiting the Gaza strip and coming close to actual bombs falling followed by a trip to where the bombs actually landed, an empty schoolhouse. From there it's off to Afghanistan and Pakistan and ever more enlightening and dangerous journey.
The true subject of Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden is not the world's only celebrity terrorist, but rather the interviews with real middle east residents and scholars and religious leaders which reveal people with the same concerns, hopes and feelings as the average American. People who Morgan Spurlock spoke to didn't support Osama. Even the ones who are no fans of America were not necessarily fans of Bin Laden.
Some of the most fascinating conversations in WITWIOBL comes from an Egyptian professor who says Osama Bin Laden did the American right wing a favor, he gave them a reason to be in the middle east. Without the attack on 9/11, American foreign policy could not justify a large American presence in the middle east. After the attacks, even some in the middle east were forced to accept America in their backyard.
It sounds like conspiracy theory but the professor does not claim that the Bush administration or anyone planned 9/11 or let it happen to give America a reason to go to war. Her point was only that America would not be in the middle east in the way they are today without the actions of Osama Bin Laden. It's a fair point.
All throughout Where In The World is Osama Bin Laden I could not shake the thought, why isn't Spurlock at home with his wife? She's pregnant. When he leaves he has six weeks till she is expected to give birth. As bombs go off and bullets fly, you can't help but think go home! Yes, the documentary is entertaining and has some insight but would it have been worth it if he was killed weeks before the birth of his first child?
Spurlock confronts this question near the end and the scene is a cathartic close to the film. Of course you know already he survived but the journey is nevertheless compelling and especially in his final scenes arguably within miles of Osama, if you believe the most recent rumors.
For all his self promotion and reckless personal decision making, Spurlock knows well how to engage an audience. Intelligent, funny and compelling, I was often irritated by Spurlock and his persistent need to risk his life while his wife waited, scared at home with their child on the way, but the result is somehow worth it. This is a terrific bit of filmmaking and conversation starting.
