Borat (2006)
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (or simply Borat) is as audacious now as it was in 2006. You can’t believe Sacha Baron Cohen put himself out there - quite literally - the way he did. It’s packed with memorable lines from a character you cannot forget. It even manages to educate you by surreptitiously inserting a couple of smart observations made here and there. They raise eyebrows even more than the comedian’s antics. Sometimes it goes too far but in a picture like this, that’s preferable to not going far enough.
Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) is tasked by his government to make a documentary about what makes the “US and A” the “Greatest Country in the World”. With the help of producer Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davitian), the clueless, jew-hating, misogynist foreigner does his best to navigate the country.
I'd like to think everyone would realize there's something amiss about this portrayal of Kazakhstan instantly. This mockumentary fills it with children who play with AK-47s, the town rapist is little more than an annoyance, pubic hair is a form of currency, women are kept in cages and scientifically proven to be less intelligent than men, and so on. Then again, most people have probably never even heard of Kazakhstan, which is why Cohen gets away with everything he says so matter-of-factly. “Against animal cruelty?!” might be one of my favorite lines from the film.
Borat is convincing as he interacts with people because there's nothing the actor won’t do. Some of it you might even believe from a foreigner unaccustomed to our customs. He slowly leads to his outrageous comments or slips them in so quickly that people are either too taken aback to confront him about it or don’t react at all. His demeanor makes everyone let their guards down. He'll throw in a jingoistic remark. Did it spark outrage? No? Better go a little further. All the non-actors either show superhuman patience, which makes their bamboozled reactions hilarious, or they incriminate and embarrass themselves so thoroughly you laugh at their expense. As cringe turns to hilarity, you wonder, "Did no one remember they were on camera?"
I first saw Borat in 2006. Its iconic lines have never left my memory. "Very Nice!" indeed. What shocked me this time around was that many of the people I initially categorized as victims of the prankster's filmmaking... kind of deserved what they got. The scenes in the deep south gave me a twisted smile where before - when I didn't understand what was actually being said - I saw innocent bystanders being taken advantage of. Seeing these wretches exposed is a pure delight.
Borat is deceptively intelligent and also works as an outlandish "put it all out there" comedy. It's nasty, vulgar, outrageous, and bold. The fact that it sparked controversy and multiple lawsuits shouldn't be a surprise. While the plot itself is only so-so, the end results make it a must-see comedy. (October 27, 2020)
