Inspiration: The Ambassador

If you havent seen it already, now streaming on Netflix The Ambassador has genius Danish filmmaker/comedian Mads Brugger going gonzo Hunter Thompson/ provocateur Borat on film, in the real world, amid shady characters, exposing the hypocrisy and corruption that is the diplomatic world, and the anarchy that is the Central African Republic.



Part of the expose includes a highly suspect "diplomatic" service by the Evans brothers, Diplomatic Passport, which remains operational to this day, Liberia selling him the privilege of being the country's consul in Bangui, and after being caught on film the Liberians fumed and threatened to sue, a very candid former French Foreign Legion officer who ends up dead, probably assassinated. Much lauded Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf gets particularly harsh treatment as well, as do several other officials and diplomats in Bangui (and the proof is in the film documentation).

A big part of the budget were the envelopes of happiness that Brugger dished out in the hopes of getting his purposefully soiled hands on diamonds, and give his expose documentary a quest.



The film received criticism of being too gaudy, too art house satire, but the exposing is extremely courageous, to the point of the filmmaker risking his own life, and finding refuge perhaps in the paranoia of the situation in pushing the unfortunately true cliches and outrageous realities to the point of near disbelief, all shot either covertly or beautifully with a DSLR camera which apparently fooled a few with its video capacities. Diplomatic license oblige, Brugger calls out greed and corruption with a cinematic bang.