Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Borat is played by Sacha Baron-Cohen, - a hero of a new type of documentary film mockumentary, mockureality adventure.  The film is called Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

It appears as impolite, offensive, maybe even illegal? There's several complaints, even a written complaint from the Kazakhs to president Bush. Nonetheless, Sacha Baron Cohen has an invitation to visit Kazakhstan.

Sacha plays Borat the Hero, a naive TV reporter supposedly from Kazakhstan which is depicted as a sort of comic country cast in the same random way as Albania that featured in Wag the Dog with de Niro and Hoffmann about a hoax war ...

Borat reminds you of J.F. Foer's character in the novel and film Everything is Illuminated.  Borat travels to NY to make a documentary for state TV and whilst in the hotel watches an episode of Baywatch and falls in love with the beautiful Pamela Anderson. He dreams of marrying her the local Kazakh way which he thinks is as legal there as it is back home.

Borat is basically unable to comprehend what he sees or hears, he is naïve, innocent and guilty, boorish, misogynst and crass. He also anti-semite, Sacha himself is Jewish. It is a shock to experience such overt bigotry. Is he allowed to do this?

The film is sensational, provocative, it goes beyond satire, into pure anarchy and sheer craziness. It is a remarkable look at how real people behave when subjected to this extraordinary character, it is fascinating to watch people being astonished and horrified by Borat.

Sacha's earlier alter ego was Ali G of course, he was a colourfully clad, cultural icon of westside youth - he had credibility and was considerate, however Borat is cringingly horrible - yet very funny. -