The Ambassador

source: The Ambassador

This documentary is a real insight into dealing and wheeling in Central African Republic. I heard all the bad things about that country. It seems that it is bad as they say. It looks that they are not only corrupt but cannibals as well. It gives me shivers down my spine. I am sorry to say that more and more countries in the world look as failed states as they CAR. It really shows us in what sorry state Africa is in. Just few days they showed footage of people trying to get into Mellia, so desperate to get to Europe. More and more people like that are coming all the time from the failed states of Africa. Nothing can be done to stop that.

I cought this documentary by searching my TV channels. In fact, friend of mine was involved in gold mine business in Mali. His experience is very close to that of Mads. Very bizarre way of living, full of betrayals, corruption, promises and dissappoitments. Mads' experience was rather a happy end, one of a few in this business. Anyway, the story-telling, camera and selected characters are perfect. You can get very fast into the story and enjoy absurdity of the neo-colonial style of living. You become part of this crazy business. You wonder that you are in 21st century. In addition, his acting performance is great. Therefore thumb up Mads!

This documentary is both very funny, and very serious at the same time. Digging into a widely known topic, which on the other hand never gets exploited. While the evidence may be rather thin, you're not in doubt what is happening the most of the time. And when the evidence are not there at all, there's usually the humerus way of exploiting the corrupt people in the process. So overall a very good original humerus foreign political documentary, which still contains some good inside on the topic. The 9 is for the really creative way this is made, and thereby it's originality compared to similar documentaries. Enjoy.

Mads Brügger - whose last documentary consisted entirely of ultra rare recordings from deep inside North Korea - is releasing a new documentary; this time about corruption in the Central African Republic (CAR). Not posing as a diplomat, but having bribed his way to actual diplomatic immunity, Mads travels to the capital Bangui to set up a consulate and mingle with shady businessmen and poor, clueless locals. A lot of the footage has been captured with hidden cameras, hence of less than perfect quality, the rest with a Canon 5D which no-one in the entire country recognized as a film camera. Real life crooks exposing themselves include European dealers of diplomatic passports, local criminals / businessmen, the now dead chief of the CAR secret service and some international diplomats. It appears corruption is more widespread than most would assume. Illegal trading in diamonds is much more widespread than most could imagine. And that France, the former colonial master, is still meddling in affairs there - in a completely amoral fashion. A must-see for anyone interested in foreign aid, blood diamonds, international diplomacy, the exploitation of Africa or just how to do a documentary. Genre-wise it is related to the works of Michael Moore and Sacha Baron Cohen, I'd say. Don't miss it.

Be advised that curiosity seem to be the major drive behind this movie. Not righteousness. Mads Brügger doesn't judge or morally question the conduct of the people in his movie, and to be honest, I found it incredibly refreshing! The movie asks a bunch of questions: How are diamonds smuggled out of Africa? How does one become a part of this corrupt diplomacy in the first place? And lots more! Yes, some of them remain unanswered – I didn't mind terribly. Seeking answers, Mads Brügger turns himself into a neocolonialist cliché: The Ambassador. Name a stereotypical trait of a white, corrupt diplomat in Africa and you can be sure this Ambassador does it, says it, smokes it or wears it. His tailor made khaki suits, super glossy burgundy riding boots, silver cuff-links and constant smoking of (expensive) cigars... it's all a part of telling the story of how one man made his way into the business of diamonds and fake diplomacy. That's what you should watch it for. Overall I found the Ambassador immensely fascinating and in some places funny, but informative at the same time. I learned something and I was entertained. Well done!

The Ambassador looks like a ninety minute version of the television news program 60 Minutes, with only Mike Wallsce jumping out for a confrontation missing. A Danish man finds a couple of different companies who sell diplomatic credentials for cash. Using a series of videos from hidden cameras, he shows the widespread corruption which crosses all national and racial boundaries. A major problem is, although most of the meetings are in English, many are in French, without translation. He buys an official diplomacy for $130,000 and sets up a match factory with an Indian guy as cover for diamond mining. Thousands of such "diplomacies" are uncovered by the filmmaker, which isn't a big surprise to anyone who watches the news. Everyone has a price, as the saying goes, and even here in America, we have over 30,000 lobbyists, who bribe government officials every day to pass laws favorable to their clients. As far as the documentary goes, it is extremely redundant, with endless meetings with officials being paid off for helping the "diplomat" do business in Africa. The Ambassador is done with a satirical bent, but is never very funny, given the subject matter in the end, which is blood diamonds. Overall, it is a sad commentary on the human race; we are all doomed.

Mads Brugger plays his character well as an under cover shady diplomat. It is humorous simply because you know he is faking it and everyone around him is taking him seriously. The fact of the matter is that Mads Brugger was really risking his life to get this footage. There was no abort button, if things went horribly wrong we wouldn't even have this documentary. I would have liked him to go deeper into the shadow-world of Africa, but the fact of the matter is that he could have ended up dead in a ditch. He is lucky that he did not. This is not a documentary about morals, it is simply a documentary about how easy it is for the wealthy to become involved in corrupt government. It shows how far money can go in a corrupt society. The fact of the matter is that as stated in the movie, 2,500 of people were registered as Ambassadors to that single country in one year. That is just to give you an idea of how many wealthy people are living this lifestyle.

source: The Ambassador

This documentary is a real insight into dealing and wheeling in Central African Republic. I heard all the bad things about that country. It seems that it is bad as they say. It looks that they are not only corrupt but cannibals as well. It gives me shivers down my spine. I am sorry to say that more and more countries in the world look as failed states as they CAR. It really shows us in what sorry state Africa is in. Just few days they showed footage of people trying to get into Mellia, so desperate to get to Europe. More and more people like that are coming all the time from the failed states of Africa. Nothing can be done to stop that.