Man Bites Dog (1992)
Man Bites Dog is a film by Remy Belvaux and Andre Bonzel. This is one of the more original mockumentaries to come up with a really novel concept. A crew of filmmakers set out to make a documentary about a serial killer, recording his murders and methods. Extremely controversial, it picked up an NC-17 rating, killing any chance for it to be advertised widely or shown at most commercial theaters. Despite this, it went on to win at the Cannes Film Festival in 1992.
The serial killer they follow is young and affluent. He is charismatic and yet unsettling, as he discusses everything from literature and classical music to philosophy and architecture. You really come to love him, despite him opening the film explaining the buoyancy of dead bodies when trying to hide them. Through there documentation we see his family and friends as he discusses the art of his work as would any regular artist. This all makes for great cinema, despite his depravity. The plot develops with the film crew being placed in constant danger as they sucked deeper into the killer’s sadistic adventures. On the onset they justify their filming on ethical objectivity, however they soon become involved in the killings and become deep enough to share the fate of the killer.
There are so many unforgettable scenes. For instance upon discussing killing for financial gain he reasons old people are more cost effective than young couples. They are easier to kill and usually stash more cash. He proves this by inviting himself into an old lady’s home citing he is with the city. He asks he about her life, and as she is explaining he pulls out his gun and points it at her and starts screaming, triggering a heart attack. He smiles looking to the camera citing that she is dying and points out that he didn’t have to use a bullet. When he had entered he noticed medicine on the table that suggested a heart condition and decided this as the easiest method.
Sharing in common themes of extreme violence and voyeurism, it captures precisely what Kubrick did in Clockwork Orange. Recalling the home invasion and gang rape scene; just as the rape is about to commence the camera drops and the actors kneel down and look directly into the camera as if to ask why the audience is still watching this. This is the very question the directors pose with this film and this directness towards our voyeurism toward extreme violence calls on the viewer a sort of self reflection. This feeing can be likened to reality TV and the masochism that characterizes the way people watch those shows, precisely because of its voyeurism and not the extreme violence aspect but the similar guilty self reflection that I think most people subconsciously derive from reality TV in rooting more passionately for others to fail…or perhaps this is just the way I watch reality TV on the rare occasions that I do :)
