67
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83IndieWireEric KohnIndieWireEric KohnThe closest Brügger comes to explaining his style is an early statement on the duality of his mission to go "beyond all moral boundaries known to man while still being a respectable member of society." It's a goal enacted less with a coy wink than with a violent elbow jab to the ribs.
- It may feel like 'Borat,' but Mads Brugger's documentary is a comical look at an unfunny place.
- 80Village VoiceVillage VoiceThe Ambassador's wrap-up is vague and sudden, and necessarily so: In order for the movie to work, you need to wonder if maybe, at some point, Brügger stopped acting and really became the crooked international asshole he was supposedly just pretending to be. The magic of Brügger's performance is that it earns that suspension of disbelief.
- The film's tone and structure seem a little strained by the danger in which the filmmaker increasingly puts himself, and the indifference to human life exuded by some of those he meets. By the end, Brügger himself seems to be having trouble finding any of this funny.
- 70VarietyLeslie FelperinVarietyLeslie FelperinBrugger ensures it's a fairly entertaining excursion, especially when he starts to enjoy getting into character as the nefarious white man in Africa.
- 70The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottMr. Brugger's portrait of shameless, routine collusion between exploitative foreigners and dysfunctional dictatorships is depressing and undeniable. Unless, that is, The Ambassador is even more of a hoax than it seems to be. This strikes me as plausible, since somebody having this much fun in such proximity to horror may not be completely trustworthy.
- 67Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovWe bear witness, via Brügger's film, to the slow-motion train wreck that high-echelon, African graft becomes.
- 60Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearWithin the first ten minutes, the movie proves the point that exploitation in Africa is rampant, but never goes any deeper than that; it's an undercover endeavor that never feels as if much is actually being uncovered.
- 50Slant MagazineSlant MagazineBothing is pointedly outlandish in Mads Brügger's latest, a fact that represents its triumphs and burdens.
- 40Boxoffice MagazineRay GreeneBoxoffice MagazineRay GreeneA movie whose confusing narrative and at times intriguing parts are at war with each other, and never quite gel.