The Bruno Movie – A Brilliant Example of Travel Faux Pas

The Bruno Movie – I’ve been hanging out to see The Bruno Movie for about a year.  I’m a big fan of the dry humour of Sacha Baron Cohen, the British comedian who also has the alter egos of Ali G and Borat.  The problem with his characters is that they eventually become too recognisable – Cohen has had to kill off Ali G and Borat, and invent new ones like Bruno.

The Bruno Movie – Just So Wrong!

Anyway, I went to see the opening night of The Bruno Movie last Wednesday, and I walked out of the cinema with a sore mouth from laughing too much at the crazy antics performed throughout the 83 minutes of pure wincing and squirming.

One thing that struck me about The Bruno Movie was the travel etiquette of the main character, Bruno.  Or rather, the (obvious and intentional) lack of travel etiquette.  If you want a video handbook of how to piss off other people and their cultures when travelling, then please see The Bruno Movie.

Cohen knows exactly what buttons to press across all of the cultures and subcultures he encounters throughout the movie, and takes them to the nth degree.

Bruno’s character is a gay, Austrian fashion reporter who wants to be the ‘most famous Austrian export since Adolf Hitler‘.  Without giving too much of the rather loose ‘plot’ of The Bruno Movie away, Bruno travels to Italy, Israel, Lebanon and mostly the United States for the movie’s storyline – which to be honest, is wafer thin.

Basically, The Bruno Movie is a series of outrageous skits and Travel Faux Pas that have been stitched together to form a motion picture.

Some of the Travel Faux Pas I identified throughout The Bruno Movie included:

• Dressing inappropriately or skimpily;
• Showing political ignorance.  For example, not knowing the difference between hummus (a food) and Hamas (a political party);
• Purchasing illegal souvenirs or food produce – such as an elephant foot;
• Ignoring the Gay and Lesbian Travellers Tips in The Lonely Planet (i.e. not being discreet); and
• Offending as many minority groups as possible.

Obviously, these faux pas were staged or deliberate.  But the reactions from some of Cohen’s victims in The Bruno Movie were downright hilarious, and often disturbing.  What The Bruno character is effectively doing is holding up a mirror to today’s society, and what is reflected back is sometimes pretty ugly and scary!

Sure, The Bruno Movie will definitely polarise audiences – it will be either a love/hate movie.  But what Sacha Baron Cohen is brilliant at is revealing the true character of people with laser precision.

Personally, I loved the The Bruno Movie, even though I was cringing throughout the entire duration.  And there were some scenes where I was genuinely concerned about Bruno’s safety.

I won’t be replicating Sacha Baron Cohen’s tricks or Travel Faux Pas from The Bruno Movie on my next travels anytime soon!

More Bruno Movie Stuff!

If you’re still interested, click on the official site of The Bruno Movie for the trailer.

WARNING: The scenes in the The Bruno Movie trailer may cause some offence, but they’re nowhere near as offensive as the rest of the movie!

You can now buy the Bruno Movie at Amazon!

For much less offensive travel etiquette than The Bruno Movie, check out my posts on Travel Personalities Explained, The 10 Commandments of Tightarse Travel and Luxury Travel.

That’s if you are not feeling sick after watching The Bruno Movie! Check out more at Essential Do’s and Taboos: The Complete Guide to International Business and Leisure Travel.

For more travel movies, see The Worst Movies for Travellers of All Time (so far)! , Funny Travel Movies, Comedy Travel, Never Travel With Tom Hanks, Time Travel Movies and more Travel Movies With A Laugh.