Review of Dog Bite Dog (2006) by Jonathan K — 16 Jan 2009

If there was ever a movie that might make someone already unstable kill themselves, not because it's bad but because it upset them so much, it would be a movie like this one. Like SPL, but to a level I've almost never seen, it's a story about a group of characters, all of whom either die, or lose everything...and then die. It's gripping, constantly keeping up a very brutal, angry and raw hyper-surrealism. While watching it I actually felt smaller, like the world is rough, and life is, at the same time, both wondrous and yet meaningless.

I'm not sure if I want to see this movie more than once or twice again for as long as I live, but it was a very moving piece of cinema. At first it felt like a wannabe artistic movie - but when the characters all go past the point of no return, which is only about 30 minutes into the movie (a new record, I believe), its artistic side takes a much more stable, much more emotional and stirring stance.

This movie is at times incomprehensible, and while I thought the big twist at the end was very clever, I thought it was starting to go past where it should have ended.

A very powerful film that almost makes one feel small and dreamy while watching. If you like Asian cinema, and you also like Independant movies, you'll really like this movie. Don't take the front DVD cover as face value - THIS ISN'T REALLY AN ACTION MOVIE; it's a drama, through and through.