And this week's Friday Night movie has been... Man Bites Dog (C'est arrivé près de chez vous)!
We got a challenge and a half here: A Belgian movie from the early nineties that has the reputation of being one of the most controversial movies ever made. If you, the person reading this, haven't heard of it then it's for a very good reason.
Well, I've seen movies in my time and I have certainly seen some unsettling stuff in my time, so there will be nothing left that some truly disturb me, right?
So what this movie is is the product of a group of movie fans: It tells the story of a film crew that follows a serial killer around as he.....does things.
Naturally, this is an amateur production and it shows: It is black and white, is cheaply shot and is relying on a strength of ideas.
Needless to say, it should come to no surprise that there is a lot of violence, black humour and obviously exists to provoke and challenge the audience.
Yet at the same time, this was a slog to get through. The mood was grim, the jokes are few and far between (at least for me) and the lead character isn't really likeable (although one gets the impression that was precisely the point). I mentioned above that i have seen some unsettling material in my time but this is less that and more dull. I should also point out that I was watching an edited version where the most nastiest moment was cut out (mercifully?)
It should be noted that this movie came out in 1992 - the same year that Quentin Tarantino announced himself to the world with Reservoir Dogs. I mention this becuase both that and this movie seem to share the same DNA. The difference is that Man Bites Dog comes across as Reservoir Dogs' dour goth cousin - but alas such a description sounds far more compelling than the actual movie.
Damn...
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