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:

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

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sung-Jae Lee	...	Yun-ju
Doona Bae	...	Hyun-nam
Ho-jung Kim	...	Eun-sil
Hee-Bong Byun	...	Janitor (as Hie-bong Byeon)
Su-hee Go	...	Jang-mi (Hyun-nam's friend)
Roe-ha Kim	...	Shadow Man
Gin-goo Kim	...	Granny
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 | dog | bookkeeper | bribe | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joon-Ho Bong's feature directorial debut.

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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

A comic masterpiece (but dog lovers beware)

Flandersui gae a/k/a Barking Dogs Never Bite (BONG Joon-ho, 2000)

Perhaps the funniest movies I've seen since "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". The first thing one sees in this film, before even the credits is the reassurance "No animals were harmed in making this film" -- and the warning is needed -- at least for dog lovers or overly-sensitive souls.

The movie tells the tale of a would-be professor (LEE Sung-jae), currently laid off until he can bribe his way into a permanent appointment, who grows increasingly fed up about yippy dogs in his rather down-scale apartment mega-complex. He decides to "do something about this" -- which leads to a chain of increasingly disastrous events. THEN, his soon-to-deliver spouse buys a poodle of her own -- which he proceeds to lose. While desperately searching for his wife's dog, he runs across a helper (BAE Doo-na) -- who is looking for the culprit who has caused other neighborhood dogs to disappear.

Despite my vast affection for dogs, the "robust" dog-related humor of this film was nonetheless hilarious. The performances of both leads are first-rate (and I would rate BAE Doo-na's gifts as a physical comedian as being in the league of Lucille Ball). Even so, BYUN Hee-bong, a janitor with a very "special" affection for dogs (at least for one specific purpose), practically steals the show. Indeed, at one point he literally STOPS the show -- as he takes five or so minutes to recount (leisurely) the tale of a ghostly master boiler repairman.

The direction and cinematography are as superb as the comic acting and story and dialog. Surprisingly, the film ends on a morally uplifting (non-sappy, non-hackneyed) note -- as forgiveness is delivered with a lost shoe. If I gave ratings, this would get a 10+.