The Dictator (2012) on Netflix
Admiral-General Haffaz Aladeen rules Wadiya, builds nuclear weapons and refuses to sell its oil. Called to the United Nations in New York, he is stripped of power and left in Manhattan.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb6.5/10372,979 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes56%
Trailer
Plot summary
Wadiya, in the Horn of Africa, has been ruled for two decades by Omar Aladeen, and his son, Admiral-General Haffaz Aladeen, takes charge after his death. The new leader keeps female bodyguards, sponsors terrorism, replaces words in the Wadiyan language with his own name, and pursues nuclear weapons aimed at Israel. He will not sell the country's oil fields, a promise he made to his father. When the United Nations Security Council moves toward intervention, Aladeen travels to New York to address the council. Soon after he arrives he is kidnapped and a shepherd named Efawadh is put in his place. His beard shaved off, Aladeen escapes unrecognized into the city and takes the name Allison Burgers. There he meets Zoey, who runs a cooperative, and Nadal.
Cast
- Rocky Citronas Baby Aladeen
- Elsayed Mohamedas Wadiyan Olympic Official
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Dictator (2012)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Although Aladeen is portrayed as antisemitic and wishes to destroy Israel, the invented “Wadiyan” language he speaks throughout the film is actually Hebrew, as Sacha Baron Cohen is himself Jewish.
- The film was banned in several Commonwealth of Independent States countries with leaders commonly described as dictators. Authorities in Tajikistan concluded it was incompatible with the nation's “mentality”, it was described as unlikely to be shown in Turkmenistan, censors cut it to 71 minutes in Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan pulled it two weeks after its premiere.
- Sacha Baron Cohen said the United Nations refused to let him film inside its headquarters, explaining: “we represent a lot of dictators, and they are going to be very angry by this portrayal of them, so you can't shoot in there.” A spokesman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon responded only that Baron Cohen “has a wonderful sense of humor.”
- Producers Jeff Schaffer and David Mandel said Baron Cohen's character was inspired by real dictators with personality cults: Kim Jong Il, Idi Amin, Muammar Gaddafi, Bokassa I, Mobutu Sese Seko and Saparmurat Niyazov. The opening credits sarcastically dedicate the film “in loving memory” to Kim Jong Il, who died in 2011.
- Paramount said the film was inspired by the novel Zabibah and the King, written by Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, though The New York Times later reported that it is not an adaptation.
- Kristen Wiig and Gillian Jacobs had been considered for the role that Anna Faris eventually played, a part Variety said “calls for strong improvisational skills”.
