Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (2008)

"Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?" is an entertaining documentary that starts with Morgan Spurlock learning he is about to become a father for the first time. Fearing for the safety of his future offspring in such a cruel world and moving to Idaho apparently not being an option, he decides to be proactive and seek out the prime source of anxiety in the world today, Osama bin Laden. The training for Spurlock's journey to potentially hazardous countries takes care of any weight he gained during "Super Size Me"(which I have not seen, by the way) and proves that the scariest words in the English language are "If there is anything I have learned from watching action movies." In the process of his odyssey, he travels to Egypt, Morocco, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, talking with common people and experts alike. The movie is not terribly insightful, however, even though I agree with a lot of what Spurlock has to say. And I am left wondering how exactly he got permission to not only enter Saudi Arabia, but also to apparently freely film there. In the end, Spurlock has his last great adventure before having to grow up and become a father.(He gets to fire a rocket launcher which is cool and not as scary as it sounds.) At the same time, he is also asking the world to grow up and get over itself, so his children and the children of the world can live in peace together.

Unlike the similarily toned documentaries by Michael Moore, or even director Morgan Spurlock's previous film, "Supersize Me", I doubt this will have any major social or political impact. Okay, sure, it does pose some interesting questions, I'll give it that much. But for all its fascinating qualities, it feels like Spurlock hasn't dug as deeply into the subject as he could have, and thus, it's more the kind of documentary you see for its entertainment value alone. So where in the world is Osama bin Laden? Well, as you might have imagined, it's not something that really gets answered here. What it does provide though, are some well-educated guesses and speculations. Interesting and thought-provoking such, but assumptions nonetheless. Political shortcomings aside though, this was still a very enjoyable watch. Especially with all the fun and humorous animations. Another thing I really liked about this film, was the very humane and down-to-earth feel it had. With his diplomatic and none-judgemental approach, Spurlock provides a reality-based image of arabs and muslims that is far from the angled view that we so often get spoonfed by the media. So altough Morgan may not unearth any groundbreaking facts, he does, in the end, grant us something far more essential: a tangible look at the common needs, hopes and wishes that connects us all as humans, along with some great examples of how positive change can be made by fairly simple and non-violent means. That alone made this into quite an inspiring experience.