johne8-600-911582
It seems that all the less than positive reviews of this film have failed to realize the genre of the film--that is absurdism. Attempting to create an argument through logical and deductive reasoning--in the sense that everything be perfectly scripted and organized--utterly fails to consider the wider spectroscope of human nature. Absurdism tends to lends itself a generous victim to narrow and short-sighted attacks and criticism-- searching for meaning in an otherwise meaningless reality. Welcome to the wold of contradiction and compromise--in other words--reality. Watching or reading such genres never fails to stoke up some amount of internal conflict--yet somehow feel an awkward (e.g. absurd) connection.
signemarie
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!
hokrollo
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.
Benno
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.
AD
