Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)

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

Director:

Joon-ho Bong (as Joon Ho Bong)

Writers:

Joon-ho Bong (as Joon Ho Bong), Ji-ho Song

Stars:

Doona Bae, Sung-Jae Lee, Hee-Bong Byun

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Sung-Jae Lee	...	Yun-ju
Doona Bae	...	Hyeon-nam
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hee-Bong Byun	...	Janitor (as Hie-bong Byeon)
Su-hee Go	...	Jang-Mi
Ho-jung Kim	...	Eun-Sil Bae
Roe-ha Kim
Jeong-seon Seong

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 | dog | bookkeeper | bribe | lost dog | 

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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

Company Credits

Production Co:

CJ Entertainment, Cinema Service, Uno Film

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Made for around 950 million won (around $800,000/£500,000), Joon-ho Bong was hoping the film would break-even at the box-office, however only around 100,000 viewers nationwide in South Korea saw the film, concluding Bong to note that; "It was a total flop at the box office."

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Connections

Features Palwolui Keuriseumaseu (1998)

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Soundtracks

Barking Dogs Never Bite
Composed and performed by Cherry Filter

User Reviews

I almost skipped this one because of the comments above...

and that would have been a real shame. This movie was thoroughly enjoyable. I think this would make an excellent introduction to Korean cinema because it was MY introduction to korean cinema and I didn't find it inaccessible in any way.

It was not as gruesome or hard to stomach as I was expecting, nor was it really as dark as mentioned above. If you could sit through Fargo, you could certainly sit through and really enjoy this film.

To say it does not have many jokes misses the point, because some of the situations that characters find themselves are quite hilarious--especially the chase scenes. The acting and directing are excellent. If you get a chance to catch "Barking Dogs Never Bite" don't miss it.