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Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Jason Woliner, 2020), to give it its full title, is an incredibly distressing film. It is distressing to the senses, as I gripped my stomach in pain from too much laughter at some points, and as I cringed to such an extent at the disgraceful, unrepentant behaviour of the real people who feature in the film that I had to stand up and stretch some of the tension out of my body. Yet, it’s also distressing in what it shows us about our society: not how far we’ve come, but how far we still have to go. 

There is a unique kind of thrill that comes with the announcement of a new Sacha Baron Cohen project. Who did he dupe this time? What did he get them to say? And, in today’s ‘post-truth’ world, will the world act on its outrage at seeing it? After all, he did get Dick Cheney to sign a physical waterboard with his signature on camera, as well as a member of the American public to openly admit that they were racist to Muslims, using those actual words, on his latest show, Who is America? (Sacha Baron Cohen, 2018). I think it’s pretty safe to say that America and the American people, for the most part, haven’t been through a major change of attitude as a result of this shocking recent footage. 

The character of Borat is not without controversy. Much of Sacha Baron Cohen’s comedic premise is to present his characters who interact with the real world in such a way as to disarm society into revealing some of its most problematic elements, namely: indifference to hatred. Whilst this technique is often very effective, it can at times feel morally questionable as the fictional characters present these reprehensible character flaws and thus arguably have the tendency to enforce dangerous stereotypes. This is exemplified by “The Running of the Jew” scene in the original 2006 film. The issue with this scene for me is that it is one of the fabricated and entirely fictional scenes, primarily illustrating Borat’s antisemitism as opposed to that of society. The scene adds little to the comedy and the overall arc of the film, other than to trigger shock laughs, cause offence and perpetuate gross stereotypes of Jewish people.  

This new film is an excellent response to these criticisms. Instead of depicting harmful attitudes, it showcases how dangerous ignorance can be and how it fuels further ignorance in others. Extra effort is spent in presenting Borat as an ignorant buffoon, not entirely without sympathy, but without acquittal. Unlike in the first film, Borat does not get away with a lot of his behaviour and instead must face the consequences for his actions. He also sets up consequences for others as a result of their bigotry. The horrid opinions and behaviour that Borat expresses are shown for what they are: ignorant, fearful and laughable. When Borat is antisemitic, it is shown to be as absurd, troubling and nonsensical as those age-old attitudes are. Instead of representing hate, it mocks it so that it is Borat we are laughing at, not with. The film seemed to succeed with dismantling Borat’s most problematic flaws, except for his misogyny, which was left a little untested at the beginning of the film. This is later addressed head-on, however, and packs no punches in ridiculing the inanity behind misogynistic behaviour, unquestionably condemning it. 

The story returns Borat to the USA to make amends for embarrassing Kazakhstan with the last film. He is followed there by his daughter (an excellent Maria Bakalova), who both hinders and helps him along the way. Bakalova really holds her own up against Baron Cohen and is a big reason behind why this film is able to get away with what it does. She is fantastic in her commitment to the role and is deserving of as much, if not more, of the praise Baron Cohen will be credited with. 

The plot isn’t what audiences come to Borat for, albeit this film’s is far more specific to the contemporary moment than the broad overview of American social issues that structured the first one. Were you wondering what Borat got up to in Lockdown? Here’s your answer. I don’t think the contextual specificity will hinder the lasting power of the film, but it should make it all the more biting to watch now. The ugliness of the film’s content should be shocking enough whenever you choose to watch it, even if it’s just to show that such behaviour was deemed acceptable by prominent figures and members of the public in the 21st century. If you can watch it before the impending US election, do. 

The big catch of the film is truly the most shocking moment I have ever seen in Sacha Baron Cohen’s career. This is not for capturing what this person says, but for capturing what they do. I couldn’t feel my legs when I watched this scene, feeling sick to my stomach. Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm is outstanding, and should be an explosive hit with the repulsive content it exposes. I fear, however, that it won’t change a thing. 

 

Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video from October 23. 

Image courtesy of Amazon Studios.