MAN BITES DOG Movie Review

C'est Arrive Pres de Chez Vous

Ben (Benoît Poelvoorde) is a serial killer being followed by a two-man camera/sound crew (which he's hired). They record his casual carnage without lifting a finger to stop him, and they have a good reason; the robberies he commits while on his murderous rampage are paying for the film being shot, and therefore providing a living for his chroniclers/co-conspirators. There's no such thing as journalistic objectivity. Get it? Think carefully, now. It's a deep message, so concentrate. The above plot description might be enough to let you get the point—the ostensible point, at least—of this intentionally scandal-provoking 1992 Belgian film by cast members Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, and Benoît Poelvoorde. The real point, however, is for the audience to laugh with hip delight at the rape and baby-slaughtering sequences, which, we are assured, are enacted in near-pornographic detail so that the satire might be hammered home that much more forcefully. You may prefer to hammer yourself home instead, and bolt this obnoxious, self-important exploitation film long before half-time. International Critics’ Prize, 1992 Cannes Film Festival.

NEXT STOP … Hate (La Haine), Wrong Is Right (1982), Medium Cool

1991 (NC-17) 95m/B BE Benoit Poelvoorde, Remy Belvaux, Andre Bonzel; D: Benoit Poelvoorde, Remy Belvaux, Andre Bonzel; W: Benoit Poelvoorde, Remy Belvaux, Andre Bonzel, Vincent Tavier; C: Andre Bonzel; M: Jean-Marc Chenut, Laurence Dufrene. VHS FXL, FCT