Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? (M)
Reviewer: Barry Gittins
This quaint, often hilarious little travelogue reminds us that Morgan Spurlock is a very funny guy who is willing to do all sorts of things to himself (remember the McDonald’s-loving doco Supersize Me?) to get his point across.
Self-disclosure is again the catalyst for Spurlock’s movie: his wife falls pregnant and the world as he knows it—complete with al-Qaeda supremo, terrorist yet hero to some Muslims, Osama Bin Laden—is not a safe place.
In 1996, against his wife’s better judgement, Spurlock trained up and got his injections before whooshing around the world to track down Bin Laden to make the world a safer place for the new bub. The ensuing phone conversations with ‘the missus’ back home keep a sense of balance to Spurlock’s musings, and lend an emotional authenticity to his stunts and visual treats.
And the treats keep on coming: apart from some fancy dress and the odd camel ride, Where in the World offers video/computer games (you will gain a new respect for facial hair), baseball card rankings of the baddies, and—the ultimate universal deterrent to villains—country music.
‘When you’re dealing with something that is as incredibly heavy and dense as terrorism and bin Laden,’ Spurlock opined about the film’s treatment of the subject matter, ‘I think you need to take the gravity out of the situation. We see all the sadness on the news every day. Is there a way where people can be entertained and still get some information out there?
‘I tried to make it fun while at the same time trying to demystify this person that so many people look up to. I really think if you can make someone laugh you can make someone listen.’
This premise allows for a multitude of bizarre interviews and experiences (including a frenzied, ramped-up ‘How to survive assault and abduction’ course) with folks in Afghanistan, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the US.
This reviewer found the sentimental nature of the film, which could have been off-putting, actually ingratiates itself to filmgoers because Spurlock is genuinely interested in the lives and opinions of people he meets along the way.
It’s as if Spurlock wants to revisit the 1980s homily of singer/songwriter Sting; the Muslims, just like the Russians during the Cold War, ‘love their children, too’.
Mind you, there is no lack of gravitas when called for: the movie’s most poignant scene comes when Spurlock visits a bombed-out schoolroom a half-hour or so after the attack.
Spurlock, a very charming man and shrewd filmmaker and documentarian, portrays himself as an innocent hick abroad: sort of a ‘Mark Twain’ (two bob) short of a cunning jihadi-hunter.
His theme can be summed up by the Elvis Costello track he deploys to great effect: What’s so funny about peace, love and understanding?
Rated M for conflict themes and coarse language, Where In The World is a timely reminder that the underlying problems of terrorism and hatred will not be resolved with the death or capture of a single zealot. Barry Gittins
Highlight: Morgan Spurlock’s much-shown capacity to find a common humanity with other nationalities.
Red flag: A predictable but somewhat lame end to the chase.
Open House film reviewer Barry Gittins is editor of On Fire magazine, and a regular reviewer for the Salvos' Warcry magazine: www.salvationarmy.org.au/warcry
