Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

Director:

Larry Charles

Writers (WGA):

Sacha Baron Cohen (screenplay) &
Anthony Hines (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 November 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Come to Kazakhstan, It's Nice!

Plot:

Kazakh TV talking head Borat is dispatched to the United States to report on the greatest country in the world. With a documentary crew in tow, Borat becomes more interested in locating and marrying Pamela Anderson.

Plot Keywords:

Kazakhstan | New York City | Elevator | Road Trip | Cross Country

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 12 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Sacha Baron Cohen	...	Borat
Ken Davitian	...	Azamat
Luenell	...	Luenell

Also Known As:

Borat (UK) (USA) (working title)
Borat! (USA) (poster title)
Borat (Colombia) (Spain) (Venezuela) [es]
Borat: Leçons culturelles sur l'Amérique pour profit glorieuse nation Kazakhstan (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Borat (Greece) [el]
Borat (Germany) [de]
Borat (Sweden) [sv]
Borat (Finland) [fi]
Borat - O Segundo Melhor Repórter do Glorioso País Cazaquistão Viaja à América (Brazil) [pt]
Borat - Sanli kazakistan milletinin çikarlarini arttirmak için Amerikan kültürünün incelenmesi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Borat - Studio culturale sull'America a beneficio della gloriosa nazione del Kazakistan (Italy) [it]
Borat - Ucenje o amerika kultura za boljitak velicanstveno drzava Kazahstan (Croatia) [hr]
Borat: El segundo mejor reportero del glorioso país Kazajistán viaja a América (Argentina) [es]
Borat: Kultuurialased õppetunnid Ameerikast abiks suursuguse Kasahstani riigi ülesehitamisel (Estonia) [et]
Borat: Nakoukání do amerycké kultury na obednávku slavnoj kazasskoj národu (Czech Republic) [cs]
Borat: Podpatrzone w Ameryce, aby Kazachstan rósl w sile, a ludzie zyli dostatniej (Poland) [pl]
Boratto: Eikô naru kokka kazafusutan no tame no amerika bunka gakushû (Japan) [ja]

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong crude and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language.

Runtime:

84 min | Canada:82 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Romanian | Hebrew | Polish | Armenian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:16 | UK:15 | Singapore:R21 | New Zealand:R16 | Finland:K-15 | Norway:11 | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:Btl | Germany:12 | USA:R (certificate #42670) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Australia:MA | Philippines:R-18 (MTRCB) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Brazil:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Portugal:M/12 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Argentina:13 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | France:U | Italy:VM14 | Poland:15 | Malta:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Spain:18 | Japan:R-15 | Denmark:11 | Iceland:12 | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | Ukraine:(Banned) | South Africa:18LNPS

Filming Locations:

Adolphus Hotel - 1321 Commerce Street, Dallas, Texas, USA

Company:

Four by Two

Trivia:

The character of "Borat" was heavily criticized by the Kazakh Government, "being a concoction of bad taste and ill manners which is incompatible with the ethics and civilized behavior of Kazakhstan's people". Sacha Baron Cohen aka "Borat" gave a faked press conference at the White House gates on 29 September 2006, just one day before an official visit of Kazakhstan's president. The Kazakh government hired two Western public relations firms to counter Borat's claims, running a four-page advertisement in The New York Times implicitly rebutting many of the claims made by Borat. Kazahkstan has since changed their strategy by playing along, going so far as inviting Borat to visit Kazahkstan.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the deleted scene "Dogs Pound", Borat is shown going into an animal shelter in Denton County, WV. However, there is no such county in the state of West Virginia.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Borat: Jak sie masz? My name-a Borat. I like you. I like sex. Is nice!
["How are you?" in Polish]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Epic Movie (2007)

Soundtrack:

Ederlezi

An Appalling Masterpiece

The laughter is genuine even when I was appalled at what I was laughing at. Is Sacha Baron Cohen a genius of sorts or the biggest smart ass to hit the screens in a long, very long time? He makes John Waters appear like an (old) Disney product. The nastiness works because it is immediately recognizable and his targets live next door if not with me between my four walls. It is a social-horror-documentary. The three guys talking about women between beer and beer was so horribly real that I wanted to leave the theater laughing and screaming at the same time. Borat is not tender about his own background either. He is an equal opportunity offender if I ever saw one. The world is a cesspool and nobody is immune. Even his innocence is corrupt. I've been considering seeing it again, as the whole thing in one single disgusting lump was too much to take but I'm not sure I want to. I'll wait for the DVD where I'll be able to select and discard. My only question is now, what will Sacha Baron Cohen do for an encore.