Nicolas Cage visits Kazakhstan and instantly becomes a meme

His blank expression, paradoxically, says it all

Kazakhstan, beyond any paradoxical connotations it has thanks to the release of Borat, is, despite its peculiarities, as normal a country as any other. It even hosts high-profile cultural events like the Eurasia Film Festival, held in Astana, the country’s capital city. In its last edition, held this month, the event was attended by films stars such as Adrien Brody, John Malkovich...

… and Nicolas Cage.

In other news, Nicolas Cage is in Kazakhstan. pic.twitter.com/ceAk0ktgqy

— Fabrice Deprez (@fabrice_deprez) 23 de julio de 2017

Cage, who is posing for a photo with the festival’s president Aiman Mussakhajaeva, is dressed in the traditional coat and fur hat of the nomadic horsemen who rode the Steppes of Central Asia. His entirely empty expression betrays a sense of existential panic: ‘What exactly did I do to end up here?’. And, of course, it wasn’t long before the memes arrived...

Nicholas Cage in Kazakhstan in our traditional attire lmao pic.twitter.com/MAAWpB8skC

— Adil4Real (@adil_4_real) 23 de julio de 2017

... en masse

I thought I'd already seen enough of #NicholasCage in #Kazakhstan but then one genius made this. #NicholasBi pic.twitter.com/1vRzHxk8t0

— Paolo Sorbello (@PaoloBottleneck) 23 de julio de 2017

Images of Cage gatecrashing historic photographs.

Nic Cage waiting on the father in law... #nicolascage pic.twitter.com/1kp11Dmz8C

— D B Livin (@SwampYnkStoolie) 24 de julio de 2017

Wedding photos.

Nicolas Cage at a Russian wedding. pic.twitter.com/U8tN0h1rYR

— 4uwak (@denzay1) 23 de julio de 2017

Popular TV series'.

Если вот так, то можно понять его взгляд. #NicolasCage pic.twitter.com/wkybyE8JnI

— О'Кейси (@coVce) 23 de julio de 2017

There’s always room for Nicolas Cage.

Как у него получается, так просто появиться и стать мемом)) #NicolasCage pic.twitter.com/d2f49cNz9U

— О'Кейси (@coVce) 23 de julio de 2017

However, hardly any of these photo montages surpass the original, because Nicolas Cage is unsurpassable. Whether consciously or not, he is shrouded in the same aura of oddness and eccentricity that surrounds Bill Murray, who is as capable of pinching chips from random strangers, as he is driving a golf buggy through the streets of Stockholm in the early hours of the morning.

‘I’d like to shoot a movie here, in Kazakhstan,’ the actor told local reporters, while he also praised the city’s architecture. During his visit to Astana, Cage also took time out to plant trees at a centre for disabled children, together with the city’s mayor. Did he also do that dressed as a Kazakh horseman? For the time being, there’s no evidence to say he didn’t.