Remember Morgan Spurlock? He sent McDonald’s into a tailspin a couple of years ago with his "Super Size Me" documentary. The sight of him vomiting in his car after eating a Happy Meal left a lasting impression.
Now Spurlock is back with a controversial new documentary that was screened to cheers on Monday night at Sundance. "Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?" takes Spurlock on a mission to do what the U.S. government has not been able to so far: Find the infamous, evil terrorist.
Spurlock traveled to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Israel, Egypt and Morocco, interviewing dozens of people from school children to bin Laden family friends. The work was extensive, much deeper and more textured than anything I’ve seen on network news shows.
Indeed, Spurlock travels to bin Laden’s former farm, now a group of abandoned huts in Pakistan. He even goes into one of those caves we keep hearing about, a likely spot where the maniacal architect of Sept. 11 could be hiding. He’s shot at, bullied and reprimanded. Spurlock even had his cameras shut down. But still he persisted.
The result of "Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?" is extraordinary. Along the way, his meetings with regular people — man-in-the-street-type stuff — in those aforementioned countries are superb.
The most memorable may be with two Saudi high school kids who can only be interviewed with supervisors in the room. They look like hostage victims as they respond to Spurlock’s questions about their freedom and culture; a lot is said in their eyes. Quickly, though, the interview is shut down when the questions get even slightly political.
Saudia Arabia is not the only Middle East country where Spurlock has trouble. In the Hasidic neighborhood of Tel Aviv, he’s taunted and shoved. An old man pushes him away. They are not welcome. Spurlock was actually more welcome on the Gaza Strip, where people were interested in speaking to him. More or less divided treatment greets him in other countries.
At the Q&A session on Monday night, I asked Spurlock if his Saudi guide — who was in the audience on his first trip to the U.S. — had been scared when they were filming. The man in question took the mike and answered: "to death." You get the picture.
"Where in the World?" is not just a history or political lesson. It’s full of Spurlock’s humor and is leavened by a little bit of personal story. His wife became pregnant two months into the project, and she forbade trips to Iran or Iraq. Just as he did in "Super Size Me," Spurlock uses that intimacy to make us care about his admirable adventure.
Now Spurlock is back with a controversial new documentary that was screened to cheers on Monday night at Sundance. "Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?" takes Spurlock on a mission to do what the U.S. government has not been able to so far: Find the infamous, evil terrorist.
Spurlock traveled to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Israel, Egypt and Morocco, interviewing dozens of people from school children to bin Laden family friends. The work was extensive, much deeper and more textured than anything I’ve seen on network news shows.
Indeed, Spurlock travels to bin Laden’s former farm, now a group of abandoned huts in Pakistan. He even goes into one of those caves we keep hearing about, a likely spot where the maniacal architect of Sept. 11 could be hiding. He’s shot at, bullied and reprimanded. Spurlock even had his cameras shut down. But still he persisted.
The result of "Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?" is extraordinary. Along the way, his meetings with regular people — man-in-the-street-type stuff — in those aforementioned countries are superb.
The most memorable may be with two Saudi high school kids who can only be interviewed with supervisors in the room. They look like hostage victims as they respond to Spurlock’s questions about their freedom and culture; a lot is said in their eyes. Quickly, though, the interview is shut down when the questions get even slightly political.
Saudia Arabia is not the only Middle East country where Spurlock has trouble. In the Hasidic neighborhood of Tel Aviv, he’s taunted and shoved. An old man pushes him away. They are not welcome. Spurlock was actually more welcome on the Gaza Strip, where people were interested in speaking to him. More or less divided treatment greets him in other countries.
At the Q&A session on Monday night, I asked Spurlock if his Saudi guide — who was in the audience on his first trip to the U.S. — had been scared when they were filming. The man in question took the mike and answered: "to death." You get the picture.
"Where in the World?" is not just a history or political lesson. It’s full of Spurlock’s humor and is leavened by a little bit of personal story. His wife became pregnant two months into the project, and she forbade trips to Iran or Iraq. Just as he did in "Super Size Me," Spurlock uses that intimacy to make us care about his admirable adventure.
