Eric D. Snider
Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (documentary)
Movie Review
"Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (documentary)"
Review by Eric D. Snider
Grade: B
Rating: PG-13
Released: Friday, April 18, 2008
Directed by:
Cast:
A lot of eyes were on Morgan Spurlock to see what he'd do as a follow-up to "Super Size Me," an out-of-nowhere documentary hit that became a cultural phenomenon and actually effected some change in the McDonald's attitude toward healthfulness (though Mickey D's denies the connection). With Michael Moore's muckraking sense of mischief but none of his abrasive personality or blatantly unfair manipulations, Spurlock is the new poster child for nonfiction filmmaking that's both useful and entertaining -- and he achieved that status with just one movie.
Having tackled McDonald's, the self-described West Virginia redneck now has bigger Filet-O-Fish to fry -- one of the biggest, in fact, as his new project, "Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?," follows his quest to find the world's #1 most wanted criminal. The result isn't quite the dazzling mix of comedy and education that "Super Size Me" was; in fact, you could come away from it wondering whether it actually serves any purpose at all. But I think it's a solid sophomore effort, and proof enough that Spurlock is not just a one-hit wonder.
Spurlock frames the film around his wife Alexandra's pregnancy and his desire to make the world safer for his unborn child. Bin Laden is the world's most notorious terrorist, so why not get him out of the way? "If I've learned anything from big-budget action movies," he says, "it's that complicated global problems are best solved by one lonely guy."
That joking assertion and the hilarious video-game-style opening-credit sequence that follows it indicate that Spurlock isn't 100 percent serious about actually coming face-to-face with Bin Laden. He seems to know the quest itself is futile, and that the process is what's important. (Not to be a spoiler or anything, but if he'd actually succeeded in finding Bin Laden, you'd have heard about it before you read this review. It would have been big news. I will say, though, that he comes a lot closer than the U.S. government has, probably because he was actually looking and we sorta gave up.)
The process takes him through some preliminary training that recalls his "Super Size Me" style, lightweight stuff like learning some Arabic, taking self-defense classes, growing a beard, etc. The content is negligible, but it reinforces Spurlock's persona as a savvy, funny regular guy.
It's when he flies to the Middle East that the film really hits its stride. His search for Bin Laden takes him to countries where the terrorist has left footprints, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. He talks to ordinary Muslims in every country, and the message he hears time and time again is NOT that they hate America. They say quite specifically that they love America and American citizens. It's our country's foreign policies that they hate.
They also hate Bin Laden. They assert that he is not a real Muslim, and they're frustrated by the bad name he and his ilk give Islam. Extremists exploit the conflict between Israel and Palestine to recruit more zealots, and they attract so much attention that it's easy to feel like those zealots are the majority. Not so, say the everyday Middle Eastern citizens. "Moderates are the majority, but their voices are not loud enough," says one wise man.
Spurlock presents a litany of facts and figures along the way, and here he proves, as he did in "Super Size Me," to be adept at alarming us without being obnoxious or divisive. He is the diligent parent who sneaks vegetables into our food. He reminds us that one of America's best buddies, Saudi Arabia, is one of the most repressive countries in the world, with an atrocious human-rights record, and that it's rank hypocrisy for us to be so chummy with them while rattling our sabers at, say, Iran. What are Middle Easterners supposed to think about the U.S. when we live by such double standards?
The point of it all is to educate the viewer not on Bin Laden specifically but on the environment that produced Bin Laden. After all, he's only one man, and no one thinks that getting rid of him would make a dent in terrorism. Much of what Spurlock tells us might not be news to you if you've followed the "war on terror" closely, but it's a good summary and primer otherwise.
More important, I think, is Spurlock's attitude: hopeful, optimistic, and eager to understand everyone's point of view. He posits that if we can change the mindset that leads to terrorism and fighting, we can change the world. It sounds pretty simplistic, but Spurlock leads us on such an enlightening, lively adventure that we can believe it.
[Note: The MPAA rates the film PG-13 for "some strong language." Apparently some cuts have been made since I saw the film at Sundance, as the version I saw had a handful of F-bombs and a brief but graphic childbirth scene and would definitely have been rated R. Whether any other alterations to the film -- ones that would change my review of it -- have been made, I don't know.]
Grade: B
Rated PG-13, some profanity
1 hr., 33 min.
Copyright © Eric D. Snider.
This work may not be transmitted via the Internet, nor reproduced in any other way, without written consent from Eric D. Snider.
This item has 10 comments
April 18, 2008 at 4:47 am
OK, I have to call you on your assessment of how close the US government has come to finding Bin Laden. You don't know how close they have come (and neither do I). Unless, of course, you have access to top secret US Government tactical information, in which case I defer to your superior intel.
April 18, 2008 at 6:59 am
Steve: I was thinking the same thing as I read that line. Anybody honestly think that sort of information would be made public?
April 18, 2008 at 11:12 am
My point was that if the U.S. really, really wanted to find Bin Laden -- if it were truly a priority -- they'd have found him by now. Spurlock comes really close to finding him, and he's just some guy.
April 18, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I've been excited to see it sometime, I've always found Spurlock to be a charming, intelligent fellow. No matter what you think of his views, you have to admit he's a sharp guy. That being said, I do in fact, agree with his views, and seeing this in a theater packed with college students and professors is going to be one the best experience of moviegoing in my life, I think.
April 19, 2008 at 9:33 pm
You don't know how close they have come (and neither do I).
I know that invading countries at random doesn't help.
Anybody honestly think that sort of information would be made public?
Catching bin Laden (or even locating him) would be the single most positive point imaginable for the War on Terror and the administration, both of which, you'll recall, are suffering mightily among...well, pretty much everyone besides the water carriers. Hell yes, they'd make it public; they'd be screaming it from the rooftops (i.e. Fox Noise) 24-7 as vindication for the last five years.
April 19, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Apparently, the CIA came really close to catching Osama at Tora Bora, but didn't because of Donald Rumsfeld's ego (more or less) and his refusal to take orders from George Tenet, according to the documentary Bush's War that aired on PBS. The documentary is quite long (~6 hrs), but I recommend it to anyone who cares in the slightest, or is unaware of the number of bad decisions the Bush administration has made.
April 21, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Catching bin Laden (or even locating him) would be the single most positive point imaginable for the War on Terror and the administration
I agree that catching or locating Bin Laden would not be kept under wraps. But that isn't what Eric said. He made a comment about coming close to finding him. My point is that if they had come very close to catching him, and failed to secure him, that would be kept under wraps for two reasons: First, it would be stupid to let Bin Laden know how close we had come to catching him, as it would make it more difficult to catch him in the future. For this reason, the information would be classified. The second reason is that while catching or locating Bin Laden would be a huge boon to the administration, almost catching him and letting him get away (or as was worded by Eric, coming close to finding him) would be reported as yet another bungle by the administration. No shouting from the rooftops on that one, at least not by those friendly to the administration.
April 21, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Eric, a question: If Spurlock did not find Bin Laden, how do you know how close he came? Did he see him across a crowded room and then lose sight of him? Or did he talk to people who said, "Oh, he was just here not ten minutes ago. Should I tell him you're looking for him when I see him again?" Did he assume the nasal voice of Don Adams and say, "Missed it by that much?"
April 22, 2008 at 1:23 pm
I think they do know where he is they just wont get him
April 26, 2008 at 8:05 pm
For all we know George.W could have Osama in a secluded area at his Ranch where they are both sitting around watching their bank accounts grow. Why is it that when you see Osama on the FBI's Most Wanted, there is no mention whatsoever regarding 9/11, to me the chain of events that happened on 9/11 were just to perfect.
I feel that there should be allot more individuals like Morgan Spurlock out there searching for the truth. I am completely disgusted with out Government today.
We are spending billions and billions of dollars rebuilding a country we never should have invaded while the good old US of A if falling apart. People are loosing their homes (just look at the foreclosure rates) gasoline is nearing $4.00 per gallon which in turn is increasing the cost of living across the board. Our Government is no different than Paramount Pictures, they are just creating a real life movie and we are all in it.
A great movie comes to mind when I think of George.W and his cronies and that is Conspiracy Theory. I think the reason our government has gotten to where it is today is because people just simply became too comfortable and stopped voicing their opinions and started letting others make decisions. I truly believe that Bush should be Impeached and this War on Oil should be stopped.