Here's a new clip from a film we've been following, but I haven't had a chance to see yet (I finally will this week), titled The Ambassador – provocative Danish director Mads Brügger's said to be darkly comic, genre-bending piece of journalism, in which he rips the corroded lid off the global scheme of political corruption and exploitation happening in "one of the most dangerous places on the planet," the Central African Republic.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s Drafthouse Films acquired USA rights to The Ambassador, with plans to release the film at the IFC Center in NYC on August 29, as then at The Cinefamily in L.A. and Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, on August 31.
Our last post on this was earlier this month, when it was announced that the government of Liberia was taking legal action against Mads Brügger, because he allegedly used a fake diplomatic title – Consul General and Ambassador-At-Large accredited to the Central African Republic – when shooting The Ambassador.
And with that, the Government launched a full-scale investigation into how he managed to engage in and succeed.
But there's more to this – specifically, Liberia's image as depicted in the documentary, essentially as one with a destructively corrupt government.
Armed with hidden cameras and illegally obtained diplomatic credentials, Bruegger is said to transform himself into an outlandish caricature of a European-African Consul. As he immerses himself in the underworld of nefarious bureaucrats, Bruegger encounters blood diamond smuggling, bribery, and even murder.
Based on reviews I've read of the film, it definitely offends some, while others feel it informs and educates, and others feel both.
We can obviously put the Government of Liberia in the "offended" category.
I want to see it for myself before deciding on which side of the fence I fall, and when I do, I'll return to share my thoughts here.
In the meantime, Drafthouse Films has released a brand new clip from the film, which you can watch below:
'Ambassador' Clip from Tambay Obenson on Vimeo.
