Bruno, not cool

I saw Bruno tonight, Sacha Baron Cohen’s new film. I’ve written before about Cohen and his work and I’ve often liked his chutzpah.

But his latest work is pretty average. A few laughs, some witty one-liners but far too long and all-too-obvious. Like Borat, his work works far better in small segments.

This, though, is a major problem:


A Palestinian man presented as a “terrorist” in Sacha Baron Cohen’s new hit movie Bruno says he is not amused at the gay fashionista mockumentary and plans to sue.

Ayman Abu Aita intends to take the outrageous British comedian to court after a scene in the movie portrayed him as a leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, one of the main armed Palestinian groups.

“I am not a member of Al-Aqsa,” said the 44-year-old – a member of a regional committee of Fatah, the ruling Palestinian party to which the militant group is loosely affiliated.

“It’s a lie, the whole thing was a lie.”

The problem with Cohen’s movie is that signifies a sad way to target all Palestinians as terrorists. It’s important, as an observant Zionist Jew, that he enjoys demonising all Palestinians.

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

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