Merrick here...


Jubba (from the Talkbacks) got a look at Morgan Spurlock's very cool looking WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN? [TRAILER HERE].


Jubba has a lot to say, so I'll turn you over to him...

I live in Toronto and I just got back from the Canadian premiere of "Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden", the new documentary film by Morgan Spurlock, whose previous credits include the anti-McDonald's flick "Supersize Me" and the TV series "30 Days".

I'm going to try to keep this relatively spoiler-free, but keep in mind that it's a real-world documentary and Spurlock didn't die during it's creation...so that should tell you something. Tonight was a pretty cool experience because Spurlock was there in person to introduce the film and to take questions afterwards. He set up the movie by saying that he came up with the idea just after GW Bush was re-elected and the media was focusing on the fact that Osama was still at large. Wanting to follow up what he referred to as the unexpected worldwide success of Supersize Me, Spurlock decided to make his next feature about finding Bin Laden, since it would be of global importance, which he apparently felt was an important factor in following up a film about the dangers of fast food.

I didn't love Supersize Me - I found it entertaining and shed some light on how those with lower incomes are drawn to the golden arches, but the first thing I wanted to do when I left that film was to grab a quarter pounder. What I'm saying is: for me it was a fun watch and sometimes informative. but there were too many times when I felt that the humour was being forced or that only one side of a story was being told. In comparison, I think that WWOBL is a more mature film, both in its subject matter and in its delivery by Spurlock.

During pre-production for the movie Spurlock's partner became pregnant and it was because of this that the movie took on a sort of central theme: what kind of world do I want to raise a child in? Spurlock sets out on the trail of the world's most notorious terrorist with the intention of asking him what can be done to end the fighting and violence. Though, as he told us at the Q&A, he wouldn't have expected anything more than a lot of crazy talk about bringing down America, which would have been a waste of time for the film makers.

The film opens with a fairly humourous "Mortal Kombat"-style CG fight between Spurlock and Bin Laden, to set the stage for a video game theme that will tie the many locations of the movie together. He told us afterwards that video games are an important factor in his life and he wanted to entertain his audience while hopefully making them think. There isn't too much of the forced humour this time around and much of the comedic moments come from the interviews and the honest answers/reactions of the many citizens from all around the world that Spurlock encountered. In short, much of this movie is based on the humanity of people around the world and how similar values are shared from country to country and the humour that we experience feels like the good times any one of us would have in the company of our friends or family. This is one of the ways that this film is more mature than Supersize Me.

In preparation for his trip, we see Spurlock going through training - how to survive a grenade attack, how to avoid snipers, and how to deal with terrorists if taken hostage. All situations had some element of humour thrown in to make it more enjoyable to watch, but there is no doubt that he was getting ready to go to some very dangerous places and in the Q&A he talked about some of the scary situations he got into that didn't make it into the film. He said that the DVD will contain more of the 900+ hours of footage that they shot and that his upcoming book (also called WWOBL) includes many more detailed stories about his experiences abroad.

During the film, we watch Spurlock travel to Egypt, Morocco, Israel, Palenstinian settlements, the border of the Gaza Strip, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. Much of the scenery we are given are familiar from the news or other movies that have taken us to the Middle East. What we get to see a little more of here is the insides of the houses and schools where people are trying to live their lives under the constant threat of attacks. He travels alone at times, while other times he is escorted by local militia or by the US Army. He gets to fire a rocket launcher, too...very cool.

Everywhere he goes, he asks people about their views on the US-led "war on terror", Bin Laden, and the conflicts in their country. Sometimes, we see him talking to extremists who declare Bin Laden to be a great warrior and others who wish nothing but harm to America. Other times, however, we get to see interviews with "regular" citizens who just want to live their lives in peace. We see common themes of wanting to raise their children safely, giving them a good education, and giving them opportunity in life so that they don't have to be tempted by extremists or terrorists as a way out of poverty. This is the main point of the entire movie, really - that most people want peace and safety, but that the governments are not willing to give up their long-fought wars to achieve this.

We see that very little of the foreign aid intended to help many of these countries has reached the people to help them rebuild homes or schools, though Spurlock admitted in our Q&A that he didn't set out to make a Michael Moore type of movie bashing Bush...he said that is like making a layup shot these days, it's just too easy.

There are some funny interviews, some shocking interviews, and some downright frightening scenes during Spurlock's travels, but I won't give out details that will spoil them. Some of the most interesting interviews are those that never take place, either because the people being approached start verbally attacking the camera crew and calling in their religious reinforcements, or because the questions asked aren't allowed to be answered...and I'm not willing to say more, but the people who act these ways are not necessarily the people you would expect to see shouting radical religious attacks on Westerners.

The film then begs the question, how can anything ever be solved peacefully if people aren't willing to even talk about the issues at hand. Conversely, there is a great interview with an extremist who is more than happy to sit down and discuss issues in a calm fashion - and again it's not the "type" of person you'd expect to see doing this.

All of this, keep in mind, is being done while in constant touch with his partner back home as she prepares to have a baby, not ever knowing if her baby's father will be back in time for the delivery or if he will make it back at all. This movie doesn't offer any quick-fix solutions to war or to terrorism but it does highlight the fact that the roots of global conflicts are much deeper than just a single man who chooses whatever cause he can to justify his actions and that finding Osama Bin Laden wouldn't actually solve anything.

People worldwide, for the most part, just want to live in peace in a way that they can raise their children properly and safely. Pretty much everywhere he went, people said that the "normals" far outnumber the "crazies", but that the "crazies" have a louder voice. It sounds like the book would be a great companion piece to the movie and that DVD will be full of great extras that didn't make the final cut of the film. Spurlock grew up along with with this movie, he's now a proud father, and he has been told by his partner than his next movie has to be about nothing more dangerous than pretty flowers. This flick isn't perfect and it probably won't be for everyone - but anyone who takes the time to see it will be entertained at least to some degree and you can't help but walk away feeling that the world isn't so bad because so many of its people have the same values as you and me.

I'm not big into politics or following world news too closely and I was able to follow and enjoy this movie. It entertains and informs and is worth locating when it hits theatres in early May. Check it out.

-Jubba