323. Barking Dogs Don't Bite (Flandersui gae); movie review

 

 

BARKING DOGS NEVER BITE

Cert TBA

110 mins

BBFC advice: TBA

An apartment-dweller being driven crazy by the sound of yapping dogs doesn't appear to be the most exciting premise for a movie.

And yet Barking Dogs Never Bite was the picture which launched the illustrious career of Bong Joon Ho, the director of 2020's great Academy Award winner Parasite.

Bong revealed his penchant for the quirky here but this is a much less violent picture than the others in his catalogue.

Unless you are viewing it as an animal-lover!

His lead character, Ko Yun-ju (Lee Sung-jae), has it in for canines because their yapping destroys the peace of the block where he lives.

Pressure is on him because he is trying to work out how he can achieve his ambition of becoming a university professor.

Thus, he breaks, chases and locks up the dog which he thinks is responsible for the noise.

However,  his actions open tales of the unexpected which involve a crazed security guard (Byun Hee-bong), a worsening relationship with his pregnant wife (Kim Ho-jung) and a young woman (Bae Doona) who dreams of fame 

Barking Dogs Never Bite works where many other surreal films fail because Bong Joon Ho reaches out to ordinary people.

Animal-lovers will be simultaneously besotted and horrified, apartment-dwellers will empathise with the claustrophobia of the living environment, the elderly will understand loneliness and job-seekers will get Ko Yun-ju's desperation.

Even those in stilted relationships will recognise the friction between him and his wife.

And most of all young people who seek stardom but don't know how to achieve it will be in sync with the Bae Donna's character.

It also offers the audience a bagful of conundrums, asking what a normal person would do given an unusual situation.

The cherry on top is his trademark ability to shock and prompt laughter.

His first film was rough around the edges but there is no doubt of his signature.

Reasons to watch: Another quirky and intoxicating movie by Bong Joon Ho

Reasons to avoid: Wanders around a lot

Laughs: Two

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? Bong Joon-ho's third film, The Host won Best Picture at the inaugural Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong and established a national box office record in South Korea with over 13 million tickets sold. 

The final word. Bong Joon-ho: "I'm never really conscious of the tone shifts or the comedy that I apply, I never think 'oh, the tone shifts at this point or it's funny at this point.' I'm never conscious of it during the filmmaking or screenwriting process."

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