Man Bites Dog (1992)
"C'est arrivé près de chez vous" (original title)

In this dark satire, a film crew follows a ruthless thief and heartless killer as he goes about his daily routines. But complications set in when the film crew loses their abjectness and begin lending a hand.

Directors:

Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel,

Writers:

Rémy Belvaux (story), Rémy Belvaux (screenplay),

Stars:

Benoît Poelvoorde, Jacqueline Poelvoorde-Pappaert, Nelly Pappaert

6 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Benoît Poelvoorde	...	Ben
Jacqueline Poelvoorde-Pappaert	...	Ben's Mother (as Jacqueline Poelvoorde Pappaert)
Nelly Pappaert	...	Ben's Grandmother
Hector Pappaert	...	Ben's Grandfather
Jenny Drye	...	Jenny
Malou Madou	...	Malou
Willy Vandenbroeck	...	Boby
Rachel Deman	...	Mamie Tromblon
André Laime	...	Bed-ridden Old Man
Édith Le Merdy	...	Nurse (as Edith Lemerdy)
Sylviane Godé	...	Rape Victim (Martine)
Zoltan Tobolik	...	Rape Victim's Husband
Valérie Parent	...	Valerie
Alexandra Fandango	...	Kalifa
Olivier Cotica	...	Benichou

Storyline

A camera crew follows a serial killer/thief around as he exercises his craft. He expounds on art, music, nature, society, and life as he offs mailmen, pensioners, and random people. Slowly he begins involving the camera crew in his activities, and they begin wondering if what they're doing is such a good idea, particularly when the killer kills a rival and the rival's brother sends a threatening letter.

---

Plot Keywords:

film crew | satire | grandmother grandson relationship | hungarian | eating | 

---

Taglines:

A Killer Comedy

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated NC-17 for strong graphic violence

Details

Country:

Belgium

Language:

French

Release Date:

15 January 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Man Bites Dog

Filming Locations:

Brussels, Brussels-Capital, Belgium

Box Office

Budget:

BEF 1,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$205,569 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Artistes Anonymes

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 92 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to an essay André wrote, Ben's family didn't know anything about the plot of the film. Ben's mother and grandparents thought they were filming raw footage of Ben, and had no idea that the footage was going to be used in a film in which Ben is a serial killer. Ben's mother was shocked to see her son behind bars, when she comes to visit him in prison.

---

Goofs

When Ben has suffocated the little kid by putting a pillow on his face, the body stops stumbling and is supposedly dead, but the chest still makes breathing movements.

---

Quotes

Ben: If you kill a whale, you get Greenpeace and Jacques Cousteau on your back, but wipe out sardines and you get a canning subsidy!

---

Connections

Referenced in One Minutes (2009)

User Reviews

A disturbing farce

I get the feeling through reading the other comments here, that many people miss (or perhaps I am wrong about it) the point of this film. First let me point out that Man Bites Dog is a brilliant film, a first rate production. However, it is disturbing and cruel and meanspirited. And it MUST be such. It is not a character sketch about a serial killer, but instead and indictment of the viewer. The main character makes us laugh at his gallows humor, but then continually throws our laughter back in our faces. We identify with him, but then are repulsed by him. Ultimately this film is a commentary on human beings and particularly their media driven obsession with violence. That is what makes this a fantastic movie.

This film is not simply about a serial killer, but about a film crew who follows him around in order to get a story (an indictment of journalistic detatchment). The media is not simply a passive observer, but an active participant in the crimes of the psychopath (this should ring bells with us regarding the recent spate of school shootings and Time magazine's decision to have the Columbine kids on the cover).

However, this is not a simplistic film that simply points its finger at an easy target like the mass media (as happens in Scream), but is much more complex. The film goes to the next level and indicts the viewer himself as perpetuating this cycle. We are entertained by the glib killer, we identify with him, he is a cool guy or at least a witty one. This sort of reminds of the type of people who went to visit John Wayne Gacy or wrote love letters to Richard Ramirez, but these are not the only people that this film is directed at, it is directed at all of us... all of us who are fascinated by carnage, who keep body counts of mass murderers, who watch every special regarding serial killers on CNBC. This film as indictment of our obsession with these murders, and this indictment is so skillfully played out that this film becomes great.

The movie works hard to cause the viewer to identify with the killer and then throws the horrors of what the killer actually does into our faces. The murder of the child in the house in the suburbs, the horrifying rape scene at the end of the film. These things are supposed to throw us back into our humanity, out of the fiction of the romantic psychopath, and they do so brilliantly. I felt really dirty and uncomfortable after watching this film and I believe that this is precisely how I was supposed to feel.

I think that the confusion regarding this film arises from these contradictions, that the film sets itself up as a comedy, but becomes something else quite quickly; something complex and somewhat ugly. The film does not allow itself to be easily pigeon-holed. Overall, an excellent film... a double-feature with Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer would be an interesting experience.