The Ambassador (2011 film)

Premise

Mads Brügger goes undercover as the Liberian diplomat and businessman Mr. Cortzen with the object of building a match factory in the Central African Republic; in reality he is uncovering corruption linked to diplomatic title brokerage and blood diamonds.

Controversy

As a result of the movie's controversial themes, the Liberian government threatened legal action against Brügger. The Dutch businessman Willem Tijssen, who according to the movie brokered the diplomatic title, unsuccessfully filed an injunction to stop screening of the film at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam. According to Danish media, Willem Tijssen is pursuing legal actions in Denmark, for having been filmed with a hidden camera.

Reception

The film was well received by critics and currently holds a 76% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes with Kyle Smith of the New York Post calling it, "a stunning, funny, and vital piece of guerilla cinema."

Karsten Kastelan of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "It is highly watchable, clearly (and unabashedly) exploitative and often offensive – but it undeniably unearths some very uncomfortable truths about Central Africa in general, corruption in particular and individual greed on top of it. And – even though the director denies it – it might have been financed in part with the sale of blood diamonds."