The Dictator is a 2012 British-American political satire black comedy film co-written by and starring Sacha Baron Cohen as his fourth feature film in a leading role. The film is directed by Larry Charles, who previously directed Baron Cohen's mockumentaries Borat and Brüno. Baron Cohen, in the role of Admiral General Aladeen, the dictator of the fictional Republic of Wadiya visiting the United States, stars alongside Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, Jason Mantzoukas, and an uncredited appearance by John C. Reilly.
Argument
For years the Republic of Wadiya, in North Africa, has been ruled by Admiral General Haffaz Aladeen (Sacha Baron Cohen), a childish, lascivious, despotic, misogynist, anti-Western and anti-Semitic dictator who surrounds himself with female bodyguards. Aladeen refuses to allow Wadiyano oil to be sold internationally and is working on the development of nuclear weapons. After the Security Council of the United Nations decides to intervene militarily, Aladeen travels to the UN headquarters in New York to address the Council.
Shortly after arriving, he is kidnapped by Clayton, a hitman hired by his uncle Tamir, who intends to betray him. Tamir replaces Aladeen with a decoy called Efawadh, whom he intends to manipulate to sign a treaty that nominally aims to democratize Wadiya and allow the export of oil from the country leaving it in the hands of foreign interests.
Aladeen escapes after Clayton accidentally caught fire, but his huge beard had been shaved by Clayton, making him virtually unrecognizable. Soon he meets the activist Zoey, who offers him a job. Aladeen rejects the offer and travels to the "Little Wadiya" in New York located near the Marcy Avenue station, populated by refugees from his country, many of them fleeing from Aladeen. There, he meets "Nuclear" Nadal, former head of Wadiya's nuclear arms program and exproxeneta (he provided Aladeen's women), whom Aladeen believed he had previously executed. Nadal explains that the Wadiyan rebels have infiltrated his intelligence unit, sending all the people he had ordered to exile to exile.
Wanting his former bodyguard job, Nadal promises to help Aladden thwart Tamir's plans and regain his position as "supreme leader", provided that Aladeen will be the new head of Wadiya's WMD program. Aladeen agrees and accepts the offer of Zoey's work, since it takes place at the hotel where the treaty will be signed.
Aladeen gradually falls in love with Zoey after she refuses his sexual advances and later sees how she confronts a policeman with courage and passion. Around the business struggles of Zoey, Aladeen begins imposing strict schedules around the world, forming a personality cult around Zoey and intimidating an inspector to give the store a good review. However, Aladeen's relationship with Zoey becomes tense after he reveals his true identity.
After acquiring a new beard taken from a corpse, Aladeen infiltrates the hotel and tells Efawadh to leave. At the signing ceremony, he breaks Tamir's document in front of the UN delegation, and has a passionate speech praising the virtues of the dictatorship, establishing unwelcome parallels to current issues in the United States. However, upon seeing Zoey in the room, he declares his love for her and, knowing the views strongly held by Zoey, votes to democratize his country and open the Wadiya oil fields, but in a way that the population benefits. Angry with Aladeen to stay in power, Tamir tries to kill him but Efawadh jumps in front of the bullet and receives the shot but survives, since his job "was to receive bullets in the head".
A year later, Wadiya celebrates its first democratic elections, although they are rigged in favor of Aladeen (having now added the title of President Prime Minister Admiral General). Later, she marries Zoey, but is surprised when she breaks a cup with her foot and reveals herself as a Jewess.
Scenes during the final credits show Aladeen, driving green cars, visiting a Nadal reintegrated, and later Zoey reveals in a television interview that she is pregnant with the couple's first child. Aladeen responds to the news by asking Zoey if she is having "a child or an abortion." The film begins with a note that said it was dedicated to the memory of Kim Jong-il.
