"Borat" Movie Debuts at Toronto Film Fest

Borat is back. Chenkui! He stars in a new movie that debuted this past week at the Toronto Film Festival. Borat, for those who don't know, is a naive, heavy-accented, anti-semitic and sexist fictional journalist from Kazakhstan portayed by British actor Sacha Baron Cohen (of Ali G. fame).

The film is titled "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" but many people are referring to it simply as "The Borat Movie." The film reportedly brings big laughs to the big screen and not a little controversy.

Borat is one of several characters played by Cohen on "The Ali G. Show." As the film's torturous title suggests, part of what makes Borat so funny is his poor English. It's not that Cohen's character is unable to communicate in English when he interviews unsuspecting Brits and Americans for his "reports," but rather it is his awkward transliteral way of expressing his thoughts. Borat's conversations reveal a load of reprehensible cultural baggage -- racism, sexism, moral taboos -- that are part of his Kazak worldview.

His English is spoken with an innocent, child-like bluntness and dorky enthusiasm, even when his comments are jaw-droppingly offensive. This makes his chats with duped interviewees side-splitting, tear-inducing, rolling-on-the-floor-laughing funny. Borat's unworldy ways, his lack of sophistication, are a source of laughter, as well. Part of the joke, however, is that Borat is a worldy sophisticate in his native Kazakhstan.

For fans and viewers familiar with the character already, the film promises more of the hilarity of the Borat segments in "Da Ali G. Show." The word from the Toronto Film Festival was that the fans and critics have raved about the Borat movie (though many in Kazakhstan are upset about the way the character makes their country look to the rest of the world). As Borat himself would say in a loud gleeful voice, "Wow-wow-wee-ah! I like!!! It's nice!!!"

Posted by Robsam at September 19, 2006 04:25 AM