Saturday, May 19, 2012
The Dictator (MA15+)
When a film is presented in loving memory of former North
Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, previously parodied in films like Team America: World Police, it’s an
amusing foreshadow of what’s to come. In the year since both Jong-Il and Osama
bin Laden died, the surprise of seeing their names disgraced in the eyes of
comedy once more is minimal. But, luckily for them, they have the fearless
tyrant of Wadiya knocking on heaven’s door to comfort them.
Sacha Baron Cohen takes on a new mantle as the dictator of
the fictional North African country, a man used to power from a very young age
but with a more idiotic disposition than some of his counterparts. He sleeps
with celebrities but wants cuddles they don’t give him and executes nuclear
researchers for making bomb heads round instead of pointy.
Agreeing to go to the United States on for diplomatic
discussions with the United Nations, Admiral General Aladeen (ha, geddit?) gets
cast onto the streets after some dastardly work by baddie Tamir (Ben Kingsley)
and finds himself with his complete opposite. Eco-friendly and a major in
feminist literature, Zoe (Anna Faris) takes him to her organic store believing
he’s a foreign dissident.
There’s a fair bit thrown around throughout the film, an
anti-Arab joke here, picking up a bit of Yiddish around the place there. It
addresses some of the bigger stereotypes, playing along with them rather than
breaking them, but always maintaining a comical nature. There’s a bit of sexual
conduct as expected, but again in a typical Baron Cohen way of the more
outlandish kind.
Aladeen is a man with more than one side, but even a pretty
face would be hard pressed to change every one of his thoughts. His struggles
with roughing it out on the streets of New York and dealing in a normal manner
with people is similar to those in film and TV elsewhere; no doubt influences
were pulled from characters like Seinfeld’s
The Soup Nazi.
Structured with an actual storyline, Baron Cohen’s latest
project steers clear of the mockumentaries that made Borat and Bruno centre
stage. Aladeen’s story has most of the puzzle pieces to it (some go missing
when his and the audience’s mind do), taking the journey through strong
beginnings, a messed-up middle and a somewhat solid conclusion.
Plenty made use of the opportunity to work with the comedian
– Megan Fox was happy to parody herself as a celebrity prostitute, Ed Norton
the same… and Ben Kingsley’s inclusion seems strange although his diverse projects
aren’t a secret. Faris, however, fits well trying to see the good in a man who
is instantly terribly rude to her. As Zoe she’s crazy but not nearly as dumb as
she could be. Well, except for the whole not recognising him thing.
Smartly kept short at 83 minutes, the film still creeps
along over the course of the story’s three-day timeframe. With short but
frequent bursts of reasons to at least smile, it’s not the Englishman’s best
work, but remains a timely look at the view of dictatorship from Western
society.
Rating: 3/5
*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) from Saturday 19/5/2012
***
Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972)
The first of five Werner Herzog-Klaus Kinski collaborations, the story of a Spanish expedition to claim the riches of El Dorado is an unsettling one. Don Lope de Aguirre (Kinski) exerts a demanding presence on the party making their way through Peruvian terrain, outing the chosen commander, Ursua (Ruy Guerra), in favour of self-glory and fortune.
Their one-week quest to find El Dorado comes at a cost early, but Aguirre defies those waiting for them to continue on. Even with his own daughter and Ursua’s mistress in their midst, both impeccably dressed.
It’s narrated through the diary of accompanying monk Gaspar de Carvajal (Del Negro), who himself seems to forget true moral thought as the expedition becomes increasingly difficult. As part of the New German cinema era with the likes of Wim Wenders, the film seems trivial with events like a trial for Ursua but quickly turns frightening when the numbers of the party slowly start to thin.
The backstory to this West German film is priceless. Kinski told Herzog he was leaving the film with only a few scenes to shoot. Herzog threatened (well enough) to shoot him dead, so he came back. And he’s ruthless in his role, with the swagger of Mick Jagger and preposterous ideas for glory. This is an eerily intriguing film, the progressive music haunting to make it the story of one man’s growing madness.
*Published in the Mailbox Shopper (Dubbo) from Wednesday 16/5/2012
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEWS? See what I thought of Dark Shadows and Gandhi.
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