Bong’s directorial feature debut is already a solid showcase of his trademark tonal control, effortlessly alternating between light and dark humour, and peppered with dramatic tension, as a married but unemployed scholar wants to get rid of an annoying barking dog in his estate.
Review #2,923
Dir. Bong Joon-ho
2000 | South Korea | Drama, Comedy | 110min | 1.85:1 | Korean
PG (passed clean)
Cast: Lee Sung-jae, Bae Doona, Byun Hee-bong
Plot: Perturbed by the incessant yapping of a neighbor’s dog, the frazzled, out-of-work academic Yoon-ju resorts to drastic measures to quiet the canine, setting into motion a hilariously warped chain of events that turns a humble office worker into a crusading, puppy-saving avenger.
Awards: –
Distributor: CJ Entertainment
Accessibility Index
Subject Matter: Moderate – Dogs; Oddball Characters; Suspicious Motives
Narrative Style: Slightly Complex
Pace: Normal
Audience Type: Slightly Mainstream
Viewed: Oldham Theatre (as part of the Singapore International Film Festival)
Spoilers: No
For those who love dogs, this might be a tad squeamish, even if the film’s opening titles attest that no canines were harmed in the making of the movie. I’m convinced though that there was some psychological distress going on there, even if these scenes had been made with the ‘magic’ of cinema.
Bong Joon-ho’s directorial feature debut does come with that shady reputation, whether deservedly or not. Yet, it is not just an entertaining film but a solid showcase of his trademark tonal control that he would exhibit—and with greater confidence—in most of his subsequent works.
Effortlessly alternating between light and dark humour, and peppered with dramatic tension, Barking Dogs Never Bite sees Yun-ju (Lee Sung-jae), a married but unemployed scholar, getting annoyed by a barking dog in his estate. Hoping to get rid of it, he stumbles onto something more sinister.
The Parasite (2019) director, however, keeps it bitingly hilarious as he plays with audience expectations as well as having a keen sense of imagination.
“Is that your dog?”
A rooftop collective cheer has never been captured with such suspense; likewise, Bong’s love for mysterious basements gives us moments of spine-tingling amusement.
In between the ‘high and low’, are blocks of flats that would be a familiar sight for Singaporeans living in public housing, as Bong finds the good, bad and weird in the various supporting characters that adorn the picture. This includes Hyun-nam (Bae Doona), who finds an unlikely kinship with Yun-ju.
The pressure of ‘engineering’ success in a society that has left the invisible wading in their own discontentment is informed by Yun-ju’s nefarious aim to neutralise all obstacles along the way. Eliminating dogs is thus as normal as bribing one’s boss.
Barking dogs may not bite, but they warn of the danger of personal exposure to bad decisions, which is why it is morbidly reassuring to some extent that many of these characters rely on that same black humour as a decoy.
Grade: A-
Promo Clip:
Eternality Tan 