Movie Review: Man Bites Dog
Thinking about it now, I find it almost impossible to believe that I hadn’t heard of Man Bites Dog – the infamous pseudo-documentary film made by three Belgian film students that became a hit at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival – until only a few years ago, long after the film caused mass hysteria with its savagely funny take on how serial killing ought to be done. What makes Man stand out from other pseudo-documentary films out there? That’s easy: it crosses the line of decency, repeatedly, and it does so with a warped sense of humour so perverse and casual that you can’t help but laugh at the most violent of crimes.
Yes, Man Bites Dog is a nasty piece of work alright; since its inception in to the highest ranks of nasty movies it has gained notoriety for being both a masterpiece and also a terrible, horrible, groundbreakingly unfunny piece of trash. But critics do tend to agree on one thing: by giving the viewer nowhere to hide as the charismatic serial killer goes about his daily routine, it makes us complicit; which is fine to begin with, until things start to get really dark and not so funny after all…
Benoit (real name Benoit Poelvoorde) is a serial killer with a difference: he cares about what he does a great deal, and he’s not afraid to come right out and tell us just how it should be done…nor is he afraid to spill his expert opinion on the all too misunderstood rules and lifestyle behind serial killing. The film allows us an in-depth look into every aspect of Benoit’s day, from the killing itself right through to the no less important burying / disposing of the body. Need a fix of dark satire to get you through the next day at work? Or perhaps your internship at the locum doctors jobs has left you darkly interested in the human anatomy? Look no further than this.
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