Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)

An idle part-time college lecturer is annoyed by the yapping sound of a nearby dog. He decides to take drastic action.

Director:

Bong Joon Ho

Writers:

Bong Joon Ho, Ji-ho Song

Stars:

Bae Doona, Sung-Jae Lee, Ho-jung Kim

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sung-Jae Lee	...	Yun-ju
Bae Doona	...	Hyun-nam
Ho-jung Kim	...	Eun-sil
Byun Hee-Bong	...	Janitor (as Hie-bong Byeon)
Su-hee Go	...	Jang-mi (Hyun-nam's friend)
Roe-ha Kim	...	Shadow Man
Jin-gu Kim	...	Granny (as Gin-goo Kim)
Sang-soo Im	...	Senior Joon-pyo
Jeong-seon Seong	...	Aengbali
Jae-ha Jo	...	Aengbali's baby
Chae-rin Hwang	...	Seul-gi
Sookyung Lee	...	Seul-gi's mother
Hyuk-Poon Kwon	...	Management office chief
Yeongi Lee	...	Management office old-timer
Yong-ok Kim	...	Management office director

Storyline

The disconnections of urban life. Yun-ju is diffident, almost without affect; his wife is pregnant, and he's wonders if he should bribe the dean to secure a professorship. He's also bothered by a yapping dog that disturbs him in the large block of flats where he lives. Hyeon-nam is equally disengaged; she's a bookkeeper at same block of flats, animated only when she learns of a lost dog. Over the course of a few weeks, three dogs in the building go missing - Yun-ju and Hyeon-nam have a connection to each. So might a janitor. Is it a man-eat-dog world? Is there any cure for this ennui? Can anyone connect?

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Plot Keywords:

slapstick comedy | south korea | directorial debut | dog | bookkeeper | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally the role of Yun-ju was designed for another actor who Bong Joon Ho was drawn to while working on the film Motel Cactus (1997). But when it came to shooting the film, the actor who Bong referred to as "P", disappeared completely and he ended up casting Sung-Jae Lee in the role.

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Connections

Features Christmas in August (1998)

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Soundtracks

Barking Dogs Never Bite
Composed and performed by Cherry Filter

User Reviews

very original black comedy

I only found about this movie through the director Bong Jun Ho, who I think is a legend for producing Salineui Chuak. Anyways my hopes were high for this movie.

This was the debut film for the director Bong and the camera-work and music scores are kind of crude for a recent Korean film. That's not a bad thing since it brings more vibrancy and tension of the situation, especially in the chase scenes.

Some people might find themselves disturbed by the scenes with the dogs, but there isn't much in it, just the fact that they're not treated like your ordinary pet. Try to put yourself into a Korean's point of view where a dog isn't any different from chicken.

The comedy element cannot be missed out too. The situations are so hilarious and fresh, it felt as if my new eye opened. What's amazing is that these situations look realistic and it's believable.

Some marks were deducted because even though the scenes were original and executed well, the director failed to put them all together to have some sort of meaning. It's really weird how my favourite scenes are the ones that could've been cut (like the toilet paper scene and the ghost story in the basement)

Details

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Release Date:

19 February 2000 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Barking Dogs Never Bite

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$44,767

Company Credits

Production Co:

CJ Entertainment, Cinema Service, Uno Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1