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Directed by Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde
Written by Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde, Vincent Tavier
Starring Benoît Poelvoorde, Rémy Belvaux, Valérie Parent
Unrated • 1992 • 92 minutes
by Toasty Mac
A funny way to come about getting so amped for a movie; none of my friends had ever mentioned it; none of my peers had ever seen it. Kirk over at the sadly closed and departed Juma’s DVDs in Denver, merely shrugged with a wry smile when I asked him about it; this sleek cover art promising violence and artistry.
Winner of the International Critics Award at Cannes in 1992, yet no one I know has ever seen this movie… I have been teasing myself with the idea of getting it for almost a year. Last week, via Netflix, it was finally delivered
As is true with so many first time feature length attempts Man Bites Dog tends to teeter on the wrong edge of absurdity, wonderfully. Whether purposefully or haphazardly, Belvaux and Bonzel propped their plank squarely on that jagged tooth of the artist’s blade; the one that takes itself too seriously to be considered camp, yet still pokes thumb in its own ear over and over again. I don’t think this film is a taste for everyone, by certain. I do think it is an exquisite taste for those who enjoy such endeavoring works though.
It Happened In Your Neighborhood (the much more fitting title for this film) is the fictional account of a small time killer and a small time film crew following him, having adopted the ever increasingly popular idea of making subversive documentary films. The movie starts out quickly, but also very slowly. There is an immediate killing, and a series of vignettes in which we get brief glimpses into Benoit’s career. The character development however, while certainly there… is slow in selling itself. I think they must have shot the whole film in sequential order. Everything is less believable in the first 30 minutes or so; especially the idea that this wishy-washy waif of a man could possibly make a career out of brutality and theft.
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Gradually in the next 15 to 25 minutes, I began to dig it though. Something very likeable about fresh-out-of-film-school crews is that they so often shoot such stunning beauty in the same breath as playing out an utterly gruesome scene. It was coincidentally during this section of the film that I finally started to buy the personality disorder Poelvoorde was gripping into. Somewhere along the way, Poelvoorde himself clicked in as an actor. Where in the first few scenes he was just this schmuck of a guy clearly “acting” in a way any good natured wholesome student-person might think a “killer” acts. Sometime into this third of the movie though, his eyes began to darken, his monologues to lament familiar.
As the third act rose Benoit fully reminded me of the criminals I did know in my youth. Vindictive, egocentric and vulnerable, he is easily swayed by the suggestion to take on one of homes in an affluent neighborhood. He is hurt by jokes toward his ability, by friends who note his broken arm could become a hindrance. He lashes out at the rest of the world for his own insecurities and inabilities to function in a normal frame of mind.
At just about the time this last act begins, his downward-spiral premieres as well. At ninety-two running minutes, I think Man Bites Dog may be a bit long. I would be hard pressed to tell you which scenes should be removed however. Perhaps just erasing some of the meandering within scenes would do a wonder or two. Some scenes to never forget are here too though and should never be messed with: killing “grandma”, dealing with the well, attacking the home, detailing the ballast (right at the start, don’t miss it)… so many.
It Happened In Your Neighborhood is an art house piece for sure. It’s not glimmering though, it’s not slick, it’s not “cool” (although it is). It is absurd and it is gripping, and it was made on a pittance. And the more I think about it, the more I actually like it.
Text © 2006 - 2008 by Toasty Mac.
All other material © 2006 - 2008 by El Topo Entertainment