Man Bites Dog (film)
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| Man Bites Dog | |
|---|---|
 Criterion Collection DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Rémy Belvaux |
| Produced by | Rémy Belvaux André Bonzel Benoît Poelvoorde |
| Written by | Rémy Belvaux André Bonzel Benoît Poelvoorde Vincent Tavier |
| Starring | Benoît Poelvoorde |
| Cinematography | André Bonzel |
| Editing by | Rémy Belvaux Eric Dardill |
| Release date(s) |  May, 1992 September 12, 1992 January 15, 1993 |
| Running time | 95 min |
| Country | Belgium |
| Language | French |
Man Bites Dog (French: C'est arrivé près de chez vous, It Happened in Your Neighborhood) is a satirical, Belgian, black comedy mockumentary starring Benoît Poelvoorde. In the film, a crew of filmmakers follow a serial killer, recording his crimes and a grotesquely candid commentary for a documentary they are producing. At first dispassionate observers, they find themselves caught up in the increasingly chaotic violence.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Benoit is a charming and charismatic young man who maintains a healthy relationship with his mother, plays the piano and discusses at length whatever comes to mind, be it architecture, philosophy, pigeons or classical music. He is also a serial killer who goes on murderous rampages.
A film crew made up of three men join Benoit on his sadistic adventures, recording them as a fly on the wall documentary. Benoit takes them to meet his family and friends, while explaining at length the "craft" of his work.
He then ventures into apartment buildings explaining how it is more cost-effective to attack old people than young couples because the former have more cash at home and are easier to kill. In a following scene, he screams wildly at an elderly lady, causing her to have a heart attack. As she lays dying, he casually remarks that this method allowed him to spare a bullet. Benoit continues with his candid explanations and his murders, targeting anyone who comes his way: women, children, immigrants and postmen (his favourite victims).
The camera crew begin to get more and more involved in the murders, first as mere accomplices but eventually taking an active part in them. During filming, two of them are shot, their deaths later called "occupational hazards" by the crew.
[edit] Production
The film is shot in black and white and was produced on a shoe-string budget by four student filmmakers, led by director Rémy Belvaux. The genesis of the idea came from shooting a documentary without any money. This film is rated NC-17 by the Motion Picture Association of America for strong graphic violence.[1]
Although it is never shown or suggested in the film itself that the character of Benoit has ever killed a baby with a gun or by other means, the original poster features an image of a baby's pacifier with spattering blood coming from an unseen target at the end of Benoit's gun. For foreign release posters (not including the Region 4/Australian release), the baby's pacifier was changed to a set of dentures.
