By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Mads Brügger
Country: denmark
Year: 2012
Running time: 93
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2048877/
Jason says: “More than with most documentaries, I find myself in a bind when watching something like THE AMBASSADOR. The part of me that goes to the movies for a good story winds up in conflict with the part that is (hopefully) a decent human being, in that I want events to play out to their logical conclusion even as I’m aware that those are real people on the screen who could either wind up in danger or have their lives ruined. That probably means that the movie is getting its point across, even if
the filmmaker doesn’t have exactly the material that he may have gone looking for.
“The filmmaker, in this case, is Mads Brügger, a Danish television journalist who begins this movie by constructing a new persona: Mads Cortzen, a Danish businessman who aims to become a diplomat to the Central African Republic, from whence he would make the contacts necessary to use his new credentials to smuggle conflict diamonds back to Europe. It turns out that there are actually brokers for that sort of thing; Mads is able to set himself up as a Liberian envoy to the CAR for about $135,000. It is not, however, an entirely smooth operation, and that’s not counting what he must do once on the ground.
“That corruption is especially rampant throughout less-wealthy nations is something that everybody knows, if only as a vague concept or something read in a news report; it is something else again to see it in action, and Brügger does a good job of presenting that reality to his audience in a simple, unadorned manner. The apparent ease with which one can make these sorts of contacts is saddening, and Brügger deserves respect for putting himself on the line to get the footage.
“One does have to wonder, though, if he had to be so Sacha Baron Cohen about it. ’Cortzen’ is not so broad or far-fetched a character that the audience starts to wonder if things have been staged or looks down upon the people who are taken in, but one does start to wonder if maybe a less broadly played stereotype would have been more productive. The accouterments like the cigarette holder and mirrored sunglasses worn at all times, along with the slightly patronizing colonial attitude, are believable enough, but the put-on fascination with pygmies isn’t quite amusing enough to keep someone from wondering if a little less spectacle might have led to being able to get in deeper and do even more impressive journalism.
“(There is, also, the inevitable question of how much is ‘real’ and how much is manufactured, although the two are far from mutually exclusive here. What does ‘Cortzen’s’ secretary Maria know, for instance – is she an unwitting pawn or did she sign on with Brügger knowing what his actual goals are? There are bits that can go either way. And while they are making small, easily concealed HD cameras nowadays, some scenes seem to have peculiarly good coverage.)
“The choices Brügger makes are generally effective; though – by the time the movie is over, there’s genuine tension over at least his ability to maintain this identity, even if bits of other threads tend to fizzle out. That’s inevitable, and certainly preferable to the worst-case scenario, where Mads winds up dead in some African ditch. What he gets makes for an intriguing and educating film, if not quite the amazing and shocking one that the viewer (maybe perversely) hopes for. 4 cats
“Seen 20 July 2012 in Concordia University Theatre J.A. de Seve (Fantasia 2012 Documentaries From The Edge/Spotlight Denmark/Norway, HD)”
Bruce says: “Mads Brügger’s tagged as being a cross between Graham Greene and Borat. That is an amusing thought but not exactly spot on, at least the Borat half. True, Brügger does pretend to be someone he is not…or does he? In THE AMBASSADOR Brügger uses his full name – Mads Brügger Cortzen – to further the cause of his journalistic ambitions. Brügger’s mission is to uncover ugly truths of what business is going on under many tables around the world rather than make fools of people for the purpose of entertaining an audience. As a byproduct, he happens to capture many people making fools of themselves.
“The film starts out with Brügger sending out feelers to find people who will help him buy a Liberian diplomatic appointment to the Central African Republic (CAR). There are people who specialize in enabling such appointments and the fees for doing so are steep. One man is Englishman Colin Evans who resides in a mysterious Portuguese castle. Evans was filmed without his knowledge. The Evanses were the go-to men for anything that transcended moral boundaries on the African continent. (Evans and his brother formerly had a web site diplomaticpassport.com, which has become inoperative since THE AMBASSADOR was released.) The second person that Brügger contacts is a Dane named Tijssen who is not so camera shy. He has the more detailed plan on how to acquire the diplomatic title and is well connected to a Dr. Eastman, an important facilitator in Liberia. Tijssen gets the job; a contract is signed. Mads Brügger Cortzen is guaranteed that he will become the Liberian diplomat to the CAR and
as a bonus he will be issued a Liberian driver’s license.
“M. Cortzen buys a wardrobe suitable for a diplomat and heads off to Liberia where he meets with Eastman to put the wheels in motion. Cortzen’s plan is to do business with a M. Gilbert, a diamond miner; blood diamonds will be smuggled out of the CAR under diplomatic privilege. But a cover is needed so Cortzen decides he will build a match factory in the CAR. To do this he brings in an expert from India.
“In the middle of doing all this, the diplomatic passport never arrives as promised. Cortzen meets with the Minister of Security who confides how corrupt all of Western Africa is and how hopeless his situation might be. ‘If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu,’Cortzen is told. Cortsen is constantly handing over ‘envelopes of happiness,’ manila envelopes stuffed with American dollars, the preferred currency for bribes and payoffs. Tijssen stops returning phone calls. Eastman is murdered. The match factory start up becomes more complicated. M. Gilbert reneges on the diamond deal. More assassinations follow and Cortzen begins to wonder if he will get out of Africa alive.
“The soundtrack features tongue-in-cheek selections: ‘I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire’ by the Ink Spots; Woodie Guthrie’s ‘This Land Is Your Land;’ ‘Put Me in the Congo’ by the Mills Brothers; and the Four Lads’ ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople).’ It seems to me that this film is a folly of sorts – the risks in making it were too high for the payoff. Nonetheless, THE AMBASSADOR is a very amusing eye-opener. 4 cats
“(THE AMBASSADOR screened at the 2012 New Directors/New Films Festival jointly sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art.)”