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| Benoît Poelvoorde in Man Bites Dog |
Cast: Benoît Poelvoorde, Valérie Parent, Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Jean-Marc Chenut, Alain Oppezzi, Vincent Tavier, Jacqueline Poelvoorde-Pappaert, Nelly Pappaert, Hector Pappaert, Jenny Drye, Malou Madou. Screenplay: Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde, Vincent Tavier. Cinematography: André Bonzel. Film editing: Rémy Belvaux, Eric Dardil. Music: Jean-Marc Chenut, Laurence Dufrene, Philippe Malempré.
Man Bites Dog dares you to laugh and then punishes you for it. Trigger warnings are inadequate for this mockumentary about a serial killer called Ben, played with sleazy charm by Benoît Poelvoorde, who also co-wrote and -directed, and whose own family members were reportedly tricked into playing the roles of his mother and grandparents. His fellow writer-directors play the reporter (Rémy Belvaux) and cameraman (André Bonzel) who initially plan to document Ben's murder spree and eventually get caught up into it as participants. Their documentary in fact becomes financed by the cash Ben gleans from his murders, including what's found under the mattress of an old woman he literally scares to death. Other murders are not so bloodless as that one, and the film reaches its horrifying climax with the murder of a small boy during a home invasion and a rape and murder in which the victim is disemboweled. The targets of the film as satire are many, including the compromised nature of documentary film itself, as well as the audience's own prurience. Much censored, much censured, and much praised, it pushes the limits of how scabrous a film can be and still retain an audience. You have been advised.
