Borat: Is it worth it?
The funniest film you'll ever see or just a waste of time? Two opposing reviews on Sacha Baron Cohen's controversial movie
| Yaniv Furmanski: It's hilarious |  | Sandy Livak: Too low | | | | |
It may be slightly anti-Semitic. There are also those who will claim, and I somewhat agree, that its humor is low and that the jokes are tasteless. And the plot is of course completely unrealistic. But nonetheless, 'Borat' is one of the funniest and most amusing films you'll ever see, at least this year.
Sacha Baron Cohen creates a completely imaginary character which succeeds in exposing the naïve Americans' racism, fear of foreigners and fanaticism. Despite the claims that some of the scenes were staged, the picture revealed in the movie does not really flatter Westerners in general and Americans in particular.
In spite of the row sparked by the film and the lawsuits filed (and those that are on their way), I find it difficult to believe that the real picture is much different than that revealed by Borat:
The American people talk pretentiously about unlimited possibilities and democracy for all, but deep down they are not really interested in living alongside minorities or opening their doors to someone unusual and different, apart from Borat who comes for a temporary visit and immediately returns to his backward country.
Even if we look at the movie as it is, the story of a television reporter from Kazakhstan pursuing his dream to marry Pamela Anderson, the movie is simply hilarious, even though it is relatively short (less than 90 minutes long).
Thanks to Baron Cohen's wonderful sense of timing, combined with the bizarre characters he encounters (including his producer Azamat), watching the film turns into a delightful experience. And those who have still not seen the scene in which Borat and Azamat wrestle naked in a hotel room have surely missed one of the funniest scenes in the history of cinema.
At some stage the viewers are just waiting for a dramatic scene in order to relax from the outburst of laughter controlling their bodies.
And I almost forgot: A large part of the film is in fact in Hebrew. When Borat attempts to communicate with his colleague Azamat, he actually speaks to him in standard Hebrew with a slight accent, and this is sure to cause a lot of excitement among the Israeli audience.
True, Borat is not one of the greatest films ever produced, and it is definitely not one of the most delicate. But Israelis who wish to take a short break from the Benny Sela scandal and corruption affairs surrounding us, and to ridicule the ignorance and prejudice of another nation, should take a short trip into the world of rude Borat, who proves that one does not have to be too sophisticated in order to cause all of us, both young and old, to laugh like small children. Jagshemesh!
I have to admit that when I was invited to see 'Borat' I had mixed emotions. On the one hand, I knew it was going to be funny, even hilarious. On the other hand, I was not too excited about the shallow jokes and vulgarity which I expected would be part of it. The bottom line is that both my assumptions were correct.
There is no doubt that 'Borat' is an amusing film, and I admit that I occasionally thought it was pretty good. But it is mostly a movie which, how should I put it, just goes too low.
The famous nude wrestling scene in the hotel, although quite funny, is one of the most disgusting scenes in the history of cinema. It is true that the movie goes wild, but I believe one should not aim to make people laugh at any cost.
Apart from that, the film does include some very anti-Semitic scenes. The "Jew race" and the scenes in which Jews are compared to cockroaches or in which Jesus' crucifixion is mentioned are certainly not something Sacha Baron Cohen should be proud of, even though everyone knows he is Jewish.
And yes, part of the movie is in Hebrew. This idea definitely has a certain charm to it, but I really don’t know what those of us who are not Israeli and do not understand the language can make out of it.
Not to mention that some of the scenes were filmed while deceiving the participants with different excuses. No wonder that many are suing the production, and it appears that many more lawsuits are on their way. Anyone can take short scenes and edit them by taking things out of context.
I also believe that a few occasional foolish statements made by some of the participants are not enough to testify to the ignorance of American people, as well as to their feelings of anger and arrogance toward minorities. Such people can be found anywhere, and it's not a big deal to show people who are not aware that they are being filmed and ridicule them.
It's a shame, however, that the joke here is on the viewers, who flock to the film expecting to have a good time and leave the cinema feeling a bit deceived. So we may have learned how to say Jagshemesh, but 'Borat' is mostly just a waste of time.
