Having rewatched this movie

Rating: 9/10 (4 July 2020)

After initially writing this movie off as stupid and insulting years ago a rewatch changed my opinion significantly: while this is not an easy movie to sit through it is laugh out loud hilarious, and while offensive a work genius. It must have taken a lot of wit and courage from the actors playing Borat, the camera man and, anyone else in on the fact a mockumentary was being made, to pull this off knowing the difficult and embarassing situations they put themselves and other people into. Also they must have known the backlash revealing the whole act to their targets would cause. Does this movie reveal anything about human nature because of what they did and said in "Borat"'s presence? Yes and no: yes, because extreme situations can reveal the worst and best in people; no, because situations were forced onto them by actors without their knowing or permission. Would it be more telling had they reacted to people who really were as "Borat" was depicted? Who knows. The movie looses points for being offensive and what its targets must have gone through during filming; it gains several for being a laugh out loud work of genius. 9/10