DANNY. LEGEND. GOD.: Politician. Crimelord. Blowhard.

With all things scandalous in politics brimming over, be it on our 24-hour news cycle, social media, or just small talk, criminality in government is on everyone’s minds these days. In writer/director Yavor Petkov‘s new mockumentary Danny. Legend. God., Petkov takes the criminal underworld and blends it unnervingly well with the darker side of politics. The film revolves around a documentary crew who have been tasked with following around Danny (played perfectly by Dimo Alexiev), a manic alpha male who has been sitting on the city council of his Eastern European town for ten years, in which time he has created a mafia-like enterprise in the process. Going completely off-script from what was agreed on, a documentary about money laundering, Danny defies the crew, taking them on a tense, oddly comedic, trip through his depraved life of drugs, booze, prostitution, and thirst for power, all the while being his own over the type hype-man.

He Knows Nothing; And He Thinks He Knows Everything. That Points Clearly To A Political Career. – George Bernard Shaw

The film is seen through a cameraman’s eye, yet the control is strictly in Danny’s hands. The film opens with Danny urinating on, who we are to assume, one of Danny’s rival’s front door. This singular act sets the tone for the kind of man we are forced to ride along with throughout the film. Well-dressed and c*cksure, Danny is a ceaseless braggart without an off switch. His manner, gestures, and lifestyle is an erratic display of faux machismo, wrapped in the guise of a rockstar. Almost anything we learn about him comes straight from the horse’s mouth, unless he allows others, such as his bodyguard Tanko, to glorify him further.

Short interstitials where the crew interviews the locals give a similar glance into the persona Danny is desperate to convey, while others choose to say nothing. Statements by one of the interviewed, “he speaks his mind,” is eerily true of recent world leaders who claim many of the same ideologies as Danny. Money, power, and respect without earning such accolades. Convincing himself of his own bullshit by constant peac*cking or intimidation. These are the only tools in Danny’s arsenal.

Danny’s narcissistic journey takes the unsettled documentarians into his various shell games and fake businesses. Early on, he gives a tour of a dilapidated empty warehouse, talking as though there is a working chocolate factory all around them. His false narrative spews the tale of a successful business to the point he, himself, almost seems to believe his own deception. Danny is blatant and unapologetic in the rouse even when captured on film, unavailing an allegory for his entire scam, say something enough, even the liar will be convinced they are telling the truth.

To Learn Who Rules Over You, Simply Find Out Who You Are Not Allowed To Criticize – Voltaire

Continuing his self-aggrandizing, Danny shows off his opulently tacky abode. Everything on display for the world to see, from a centuries-old wooden relief of Jesus Christ to the white marble bust of Danny himself, has a grandiose backstory of how he came to procure it. He is a man obsessed with lavishness, treating these objects like so many of the animal trophies he claims to have bested on the hunt. Almost child-like in his parade of accomplishments, Danny begins to show the cracks in his stories through actions he blatantly displays on film.

Surrounded by ‘yes men,’ Danny tries to back up his claims of glory and power by showing off to those who fear to question him. Tanko the bodyguard, for example, is touted as being a multi-gold medalist in karate, yet when he trains Danny at the gym, the workout is nothing more than erratic dumbbell sets and talk of ‘shooting up’ to get stronger. All the while, Danny looks as though his heart is about to explode. During meetings with bank officials, he and his cohorts eat piggishly while drawing a phallus on a whiteboard. His whole modus operandi is nothing more than intimidation through maniacal overcompensation.

One of the more interesting tells of Danny’s overboard arrogance failing him is anytime he is around family. Touting his godson (never called by his actual name) as the future leader of his empire, Danny boasts about how the boy is just like him through his grand tutelage. What we see is a slovenly teenager who never shows an ounce of emotion, only opening his mouth to eat. On the flip side is Danny’s wife (also, never named) who doesn’t pay any mind to her husband’s constant ramblings. In fact, as time goes on, the audience might notice the fact that nobody questions him, while never backs up his claims in any significant way.

Politics Hates A Vacuum. If It Isn’t Filled With Hope, Someone Will Fill It With Fear – Naomi Klein

As the film rages on, Susan, the woman in charge of the documentary, becomes fed up with the antics, leaving it in the hands of the Cameraman and Jamie the sound guy, who continue to watch the spiraling depths of madness Danny puts them through. To delve any deeper into the self-made drama the titular character concocts would be a disservice to those who have yet to see the film. Instead, with the groundwork set, I’ll say this, all too often we witness those unfit to influence others in seats of power, either political, criminal, or celebrity, and wonder how they could rise to such ranks? The answer is simple. People occasionally mistake bravado for intelligence. People believe in those who tell them what they want to hear. People tend to idolize sovereignty and those who wield it out of fear or vicariousness.

This is a story of a scared boy, trapped in a man’s body. Fueled by cocaine, whiskey, and unabashed foolhardiness, Danny is as interesting as he is deluded about who he is. Rough around the edges, yet an extremely engrossing character study, Danny. Legend. God. acts as a relevant cautionary tale of an unchecked ego. Offbeat in approach and satisfying in consummation, this is a recommendation for anyone who’s ever pondered how the crass and incapable can rise to heights grossly underserved.

Mockumentaries serve as an irreverent look into a person or subject audiences find intriguing. What are some of your recommendations for the genre which might have flown under the radar? Leave a comment for the Film Inquiry Community and keep the conversation going.

Danny. Legend. God. is available now to rent or buy on several streaming services and free on Plex.

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