REVIEW: DVD Release: Kakera: A Piece Of Our Life

Film: Kakera: A Piece Of Our Life
Release date: 21st June 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 107 mins
Director: Momoko Ando
Starring: Hikari Mitsushima, Eriko Nakamura, Tasuku Nagaoka, Ken Mitsuishi
Genre: Drama/Comedy/Romance
Studio: Third Window
Format: DVD
Country: Japan

Haru (Hikari Mitsushima) is a naïve young university student stuck in a troubled relationship with a misogynistic boyfriend. Sat alone in a coffee shop, she is approached by Riko (Eriko Nakamura), who is an open minded and confident young woman - hitting on Haru with no reservations. Not considering herself a lesbian, Haru is still drawn and intrigued by Riko's proposal, eventually mustering the guts to ring her and arrange a date.

The relationship between the two young women blossoms, despite the obvious problems created from a young woman having to come to terms with her sexual identity. It soon becomes obvious that despite its happy beginning they are not immune to the problems that arise in the difficult times of young love...


Kakera opens with an extended period of speechless visuals, introducing Haru and revealing the rut that she’s stuck in. The first seven minutes leading up to Riko and Haru's first meeting is set to a pleasingly complementary soundtrack, written by the former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, and only two lines of speech. The slow and plodding pace at which we move through a typical morning for Haru is a great example of director/writer Momoko Ando's ability to control pace and emotion.

The initial meeting and first few flourishes of the central relationship do feel slightly contrived. The extremely confident personality that is Riko, having the audacity and self confidence to approach a stranger in a cafe and start hand feeding them cheesecake is over played with the intention of showing her as a character. It is saved by the fact that Haru is already a well established character, so her underwhelming objections are understandable.

After getting over its initial stumbles, it feels that Momoko Ando has stopped trying so hard in the quirky stakes, and the story finds a natural, yet refreshing flow – removing forced and unnecessary audience challenges that hamper the first twenty minutes. Haru seems to be portrayed on the toilet more than you would expect during this time.

The way in which Haru as a character is grown and progressed very subtly, and quite certainly, explains her curiosities in Riko. Her boyfriend is the epitome of misogynist - sexually aggressive, mentally controlling and abusive, and Haru (as many women in her situation are) is trapped by an irrational sense of love and loyalty to this man. The strain this puts on the budding central relationship is obvious and believable, with a well built atmosphere of tension.

The realistic nature of the film is refreshing, truly demonstrating no matter where in the world, no matter the sexuality of the people involved, the problems are the same. It echoes Riko’s statement: “Men and women are all human. It's only hard when we categorise ourselves.” Ultimately, Riko turns possessive and protective, whilst Haru struggles to be open and accept who she is. There is a nice moment when Riko tells Haru she needs to hear a sentence, “It begins with I and ends with U” and Haru replies, “I would like to eat some chicken Cordon Bleu”.” Couple this realism with the occasional drops into fantastical imagery, and there is a great example of cinematic storytelling playing out on screen.

Saying that, the two main characters never ‘actually’ kiss, instead uncomfortably pressing their faces together. Also, the CGI cheapens well thought out ideas - when a bottle of drink turns into a two headed dove, the graphics are a letdown. However, the film overall, deserves credit for achieving what is does on a clear shoestring budget.


An extremely commendably debut film, Kakera is a wonderfully humble and realistic view on relationships, love and life. A touching, funny and moving film worth the hour-and-forty-five minutes it skips its way through easily. JP

REVIEW: DVD Release: Instant Swamp

Film: Instant Swamp
Release date: 24th May 2010
Certificate: 12
Running time: 120 mins
Director: Miki Satoshi
Starring: Kumiko Aso, Ryo Kase, Morio Kazama, Eri Fuse, Kankuro Kudo, Keiko Matsuzaka
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Third Window
Format: DVD
Country: Japan

Director of Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers, Satoshi Miki is an established name in Japan with an unmistakable style that doesn't shy away from the ludicrous – you’ve been warned!

Haname Jinchoge (Kumiko Aso) is a young professional working as an executive for a fashion magazine in Japan. But under the exterior of a successful business woman lies the frustration, desires and imagination of a young girl trying to make sense of the world around her, amidst the stories of magic and superstitions from her friends and family.

When Haname's mother falls ill, she discovers the identity of her father, taking it upon herself to find him and discover the man he really is. Her discoveries take her through any number of small adventures, making new friends and discovering more about her past and her beliefs...


The film starts with Haname working as a high level executive for a fashion magazine, with aspirations of starting her own magazine in Europe in order to be closer to the man she believes to be her soul mate - Shunsuke. Shunsuke is a photographer for the magazine and is the only man with whom Haname doesn't suffer a large static electric shock every time they touch. Hitting straight to the heart of the problem, this aligns the film to an episode of Ally McBeal or Sex And The City.

From here, Instant Swamp moves in an incredibly erratically episodic way, skipping from vignette to vignette with very little sense of underlying chronology. Rather than a cinematic experience, this is like watching a set of clippings from one of the aforementioned sit-coms. With its few bright, easily identifiable characters and locations, it is one very small step away from mindless catch-phrases that spark off a surge of canned laughter and audience applause.

Instant Swamp aims for the heady heights of Chan-wook Parks I'm A Cyborg But That's OK and Jean-Pierre Jeunets Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain – two wonderfully imaginative productions. Where these films succeed - with genius characterisation and central charm and colour - is to pull you into an unconventional world created by the lead characters’ personalities. Without these elements, Instant Swamp merely annoys, with Haname's continuous high-pitched and over excited yelps to the smallest details making the whole experience a true challenge.

As the film progresses through its many mini adventures, the story loses itself - forgetting its original purpose and drive. It starts with the story of a woman’s discoveries of her family, and coming to terms with personal identity - all the time dealing with her beliefs in the superstitions and magic she is always being told is surrounding her but she cannot see – but midway through the film this gets forgotten. The end finds itself somewhere between an episode of Scrubs and children's TV show, with full decibel dialogue between one dimensional characters.

Instant Swamp is a very confused film. It is lost in its sense of purpose and identity, and lacks any real substance. As the story jumps around in a dismissive and unstructured pattern - the acting is so incredibly over played for the intention of comedy that watching the action on screen is an effort in itself.


Instant Swamp feels like a journey through the mind of an 11-year-old girl with A.D.H.D. who has just sank a whole undiluted bottle of Ribena. JP

REVIEW: DVD Release: Peppermint Candy

Film: Peppermint Candy
Release date: 26th April 2010

Certificate: 15

Running time: 130 mins

Director: Lee Chang-dong

Starring: Kim Yeo-jin, Sol Kyung-gu, Moon So-ri 

Genre: Drama

Studio: Third Window

Format: DVD

Country: South Korea

A tale of a broken man in South Korea on the brink of suicide is hardly the premise for a life affirming affair, but there’s good reason why Peppermint Candy enjoyed critical and award success prior to its UK release.

Peppermint Candy tracks the story of Kim Yong-ho (Sol Kyung-gu), starting with the twentieth anniversary meeting of a group of home town school friends and moving back through time, taking in his estranged wife, daughter and dog, and squalid living conditions to his time as a successful business man, his career as a policeman, a stint of military service – before we end up right back to his childhood.

Bringing together all the elements of Kim’s life, as we pass backwards through it, shows his creation and destruction as a man, introducing his past loves, and revealing the depth of his character…


Peppermint Candy is meticulously planned and perfectly constructed. Its non-linear approach to the story of Kim Yong-ho’s demise is truly justified. It flows along sewing small seeds that can seem as insignificant asides at the time, but through revealing his past to the audience they have much more importance than you first expected. This allows the film to have a natural and un-contrived approach to each individual scene. It doesn't need to go into the details that would detract from the atmosphere, yet avoids leaving the audience dissatisfied with plot gaps or questions.

Playing the story out over twenty years of Kim’s life draws it into a different league of the likes of Gaspar Noés’ Irreversible or Alejandro González Iñárritus 21 Grams. Irreversible, acting out a single day’s events in reverse, scene by scene, is a wild ride, forever maintaining a sense of disorientation to its disturbing subject matter. Peppermint Candy moves on a much calmer, reserved journey, but with just as affective an impact as Irreversible.

With such a widely spanned time-scale, it would be easy for the story to lose its way. It is formed in chapters, each a skip back in time, and as a result it would be very hard to keep a solid continuity throughout. Instead, though, Peppermint Candy is an incredibly self-aware film – mindful of what has just happened, and what is to come.

Essentially showing the forming of a man’s personality through key events, Lee Chang-dong creates a wonderfully rounded and multi-dimensional character. For most of the film, Kim is not a likeable character. Short tempered, mean spirited and cold - he is a bully, an adulterer and violent drunk. Lee really challenges the audience to consider how they judge personality, for every trait there is a cause, and he considers this very carefully throughout. Kim also has a leg injury throughout, the cause of which is only explained very late in the day, but is a great physical example of the psychological injuries and scars Kim carries.

With controlled and well rounded performances from the whole cast, cinematography that sits so naturally, and draws the audience, and editing that never takes charge over the substance on screen, Peppermint Candy is a triumph of cinematic storytelling. It opens with a macabre sense of humour that twists to a dark disturbing drama in the blink of an eye, and it will have you welling up on a number of occasions.


Challenging the audience to think about how they judge people around them, as well as challenging social and political constitutions, Peppermint Candy is a film that will make you care. JP

REVIEW: DVD Release: The Sea Wall

Film: The Sea Wall
Release date: 8th March 2010
Certificate: 12
Running time: 111 mins
Director: Rithy Panh
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Gaspard Ulliel, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Randal Douc, Vanthon Duong
Genre: Drama
Studio: Axiom
Format: DVD
Country: France

An adaptation of Marguerite Duras' autobiographical novel of the same name, The Sea Wall chronicles the influential novelist and film director’s childhood in Cambodia.

The Duras family are living in Cambodia after buying land to farm rice. After the death of their father, the family are under constant strain with the children, Suzanne and Joseph, who threaten to leave their sick mother to look after the farm on her own. The crops end up to be trouble, as they are flooded by the sea tides, endangering the family's livelihood. As times worsen - getting turned down by the bankers and receiving threats from the French authorities who intend to seize their land, the family has to start taking drastic measures to support themselves.

With the arrival of a wealthy businessman, who takes a shine to Suzanne, the youngest of the family, they use the opportunity to take advantage for their own personal gain. However, relations between the French and the natives are worsening, and so is the mother’s health, as they try to construct a wall in order to protect from the threat of the sea tides. All the while, Joseph grows increasingly frustrated with home, and his rebellious streak is harder and harder to suppress…


From the very start of The Sea Wall, it is easy to tell that it is an adaptation - it lacks the pace, structure and story arc of a cinematic creation. It feels very accurate in the sense of a biographical tale, sticking to the point of view of the family as a run of anecdotal events that changed their future, and I'm sure as a work of literature this would be quite interesting, but it doesn't truly translate to the screen.

The start of The Sea Wall feels like it is drawing into a story of man-versus-nature, overcoming the odds, or at least trying to in order to rebuild a destroyed livelihood. It opens with some fantastic shots of the Cambodian scenery and the family's destroyed crops, and the promise of a tearjerker, set to the beautiful backdrop and landscape. The problem comes from its roots as a biographical adaptation in that the focus is solely on the family - the more interesting story would be that of the natives who are employed by the rich French landowners.

The story is reliant on the fact that the family are meant to be on the edge of their means - only just scraping by, and pushed to breaking point. As it is, though, they are getting by all right. They have a leaky roof, and they are quite miserable, but they are still going to the bar everyday drinking champagne, being waited on hand and foot by their workers, spending days working on cars, and mixing with the rest of the wealthy elite. There is just an overall atmosphere of malaise and misery that seems to run through the entire film that is so completely unemotional and cold. The mother, for example, angry at seeing the natives’ way of life being torn apart, has a completely dead and unemotional demeanour, understanding that she is not a well woman, lacking energy and beaten down by her troubles, it is still hard to identify with her

When there is the introduction of Monsieur Jo, a wealthy Chinese businessman who takes a shine to Suzanne, it is the family's intention to marry them off together in order to inherit his money and solve their problems. This relationship is cringingly cold and one sided, and it’s difficult to watch as a grown man makes his sexual advances on a 16-year-old girl, whilst all the time she is being taunted and teased by what seems to be pushing towards an incestuous brother/sister relationship. This is definitely the most interesting element of the film, but never delves far enough.

All this time, with the family seemingly whoring out their daughter, the son’s frustratingly smouldering rebellious antics, and the mother’s unenthusiastic anger, the natives are partaking in the most interesting element of the whole story as a very brief and occasional sub-plot. The sea wall, from which the film takes its title, seems to just appear out of nowhere, with no input from the family - simply all the native workers slaving away as the family did nothing to contribute. That seems to be the general perception - the family have things happen to them and do things that should have some consequence (they are thieves, adulterers and frauds), yet there are no repercussions.

Add to all this the fact that for a medium budget film with so many resources in the way of props, costumes and locations, the cinematography is boring. A point and click attitude to filming which feels so detached and lifeless.


If you have a particular interest in the life of Marguerite Duras then I'm sure there are many elements of The Sea Wall that could be enjoyed. As a cinematic experience, however, it falls very short of being engaging and interesting, saved only by the feel of true accuracy to the times and source material. JP

REVIEW: DVD Release: Leo’s Room

Film: Leo's Room
Release date: 17th May 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 95 mins
Director: Enrique Buchichio
Starring: Martín Rodríguez, Cecilia Cósero, Gerardo Begérez, Arturo Goetz
Genre: Drama
Studio: TLA
Format: DVD
Country: Uruguay

Following a journey through his battles with sexual identity, Leo's Room takes on the difficult task of dealing with the most important crossroads in a young man’s life.

Our leading man, Leo, is finding himself moving from girl to girl - with one troubled relationship after another. He resorts to meeting men off the internet in order to try and explore his sexuality. When his girlfriend recommends that he goes to see a therapist, he starts opening up to the roots of his problems.

Whilst out shopping he meets Caro, an old school flame with a troubled past, who quickly takes to Leo as someone she can rely on. Meanwhile, a relationship with a man Leo met off the internet grows more serious, and with the inevitable developments in Leo and Caro's friendship, the understanding of his own sexual identity gets more and more blurred and confused…


Leo's Room definitely deserves some respect, taking on the subject of sexual identity in such a naturalistic and low-budget way. Using nothing but natural light and except for some music, nearly completely diegetic sound, it moves through the story despite its problems in a watchable and well structured way.

As a whole, Leo's Room doesn't quite come together, mainly because of the lack of character structure and growth. At no point during the film did I find myself truly relating to the characters. The first act finds Leo coming across as nothing more than a ‘sexuality’, rather than the multi-faceted character that you really want him to be. As we follow him through his decisions, you do get brief insights into his past and family relationships, but they feel rather tacked on - more of an afterthought than a true construction of character. It doesn't stop with Leo though; all the characters involved do feel fairly one dimensional, and that is where the problem truly lies.

There are moments in the script that are quite charming and well written, but then there are other areas that sway towards over-thought melodrama. Leo's encounters with his therapist are nicely constructed and have a sense of poetry, which such a heavy subject matter needs. It is a shame that these are such brief flashes though, for most of the speech does feel quite natural, yet fails to really draw in – cringe worthy, melodramatic speeches do far more damage than the rest of the film can make up for.

The acting at times feels shaky, and never quite tips over to compelling. Caro is meant to be a much troubled and deeply confused character, who should really give us as an audience a desire to reach out to. Yet when the source of all her troubles are revealed, it should be a moment of great revelation playing on our sympathies, making the character's future upsets and past actions all the more relatable and emotional, but it fails to do this. The problem is that the only way her depression is demonstrated is by seeing her take tablets and lying in bed during daylight - there is nothing to grab on to or sympathise with as a character.

Leo's Room doesn't know quite where it sits as a film. Stuck between an episode of Hollyoaks and a Lars von Trier epic, the really intrusive use of music seems like an attempt to make it much more trendy and fashionable than it needs to. In a film that aims to be so natural and uncontrived, music is placed so uncomfortably on top of the action that it really detracts from the whole atmosphere it seems to be aiming for. Then, on the other hand, there are scenes where the director is trying too hard to create the unedited, hand-held feeling - the camera shake at the start of the film is very off putting and unnecessary, and there are a few shots that move very slowly due to the desire not to edit. A scene where Leo and Caro are sat together in his room is meant to be touching and sweet, but instead is slow and clunky.

The film is too subtle. A lot of the time it calls out for a big reaction from very minor events. It is obvious from the start of the film that it is to do with Leo's conflicts of sexual identity, but there never is truly a conflict to deal with. His sexual preference seems obvious from the start, yet the end of the film doesn't seem to give any more of an idea that the character has grown or changed in anyway. He has done things but not seemingly learnt anything, and that leaves the viewer unsatisfied.


A confused film that does show occasional signs of ingenuity and creativeness but overall misses the mark. With a better understanding of character, it could have been much easier to relate to, but as it is, there is no real emotional link between character and audience. Worth a go if you happen to stumble over it, but not one to go out of your way for. JP

REVIEW: DVD Release: Kontroll

Film: Kontroll
Release date: 18th April 2005
Certificate: 15
Running time: 106 mins
Director: Nimród Antal
Starring: Sándor Csányi, Csaba Pindroch, Zoltán Mucsi, Eszter Balla, Zsolt Nagy
Genre: Thriller/Crime/Drama
Studio: Drakes Avenue
Format: DVD
Country: Hungary

A darkly comic thriller filmed in the Budapest underground railway, Nimród Antal’s debut feature kicks off his career with style and character.

The Budapest underground is watched over by a power hungry, overworked group of misfits for whom abuse and contempt are an everyday occurrence. Battling through day by day, Bulcsú (Sándor Csányi) has been spending his nights asleep on the platform afraid to go back to the surface. Pale and dirty, rivalries between the different troops of ticket collectors get more bitter and violent. His outlook changes, however, when he meets Sofie, a train-driver's daughter dressed as a teddy bear.

Meanwhile his troop of ticket inspectors are dealing with the recurring struggles of the job - violent passengers, psychological assessments and a torturous nemesis known as “Bootsie”. As the number of people killing themselves by jumping on the tracks seems to be on the rise, the paranoia and suspicions only exacerbate the ever-growing stress. Add to this the dangerous past-time of “railing”, the underground is a far from safe workplace…


An opening statement from a spokesman for the Budapest Public Transport Co. takes time to set out the fictional context of Kontroll, stating it's faith in the audience in understanding the line between the real Budapest underground and the world created on screen - it's understandable and refreshing to see why, with the onscreen universe of the underground being so engrossing and well rounded. It takes guts and conviction to keep the film set solely within such a confined space, and it works. There is a whole system of feuds, hierarchy, raves and power struggles which is deeply engaging, believable and enjoyable.

The film deals with the central idea of fear and escapism very well. The lead character of Bulcsú grows and develops throughout the film in subtle and realistic ways, yet more obvious character thickening twists are thrown in without feeling too tacked on. He has a fear of himself, what he was becoming and essentially what he is now. His position in his job is a form of escape - he quite literally lives underground to avoid what he is on the surface. This is not to say he is a bad man, he's just not what he wants to be.

This film throws out some obvious Nazi references in the structure and design of the hierarchy within the underground workers. The red arm bands worn by the ticket collectors and the new uniform given to a rival group are obvious visual references, as well as the incredibly Gestapo-esque unit that work for head office - the leader of which has a birth mark on his face that wouldn't look out of place in a Batman comic. These references are not to be read too far into though - more of a subtle comic dig at the situation of workplaces throughout the world than a deep social political commentary.

Kontroll rarely sets into a solid underlining plot, and works with a flowing episodic structure, which creates this underground society. The chronology is spelt out by the condition of Bulcsú’s face. Throughout the film he takes such a physical and mental battering that by the end he is littered with bruises, cuts and blood. This style leaves it free to move through sub-plots and characters easily, from the darkness of killings, overstressed workers, violence and rivalry, and then skip across to the comic elements.

Muki (Csaba Pindroch) and Tibi (Zsolt Nagy), two ticket inspectors on Bulcsú’s team are genuinely laugh out loud funny. Muki is an angry narcoleptic, not helped by the fact that it is his anger which triggers his narcolepsy, an attribute that people seem more than willing to take advantage of. Tibi's naïve outlook and blank expression is a great contrast - a scene in which they all undergo psycho analysis is hilarious (as his work mate tells him before he goes in “Can't make waves if you don't have any water”).

The obvious star of the show has to be the underground itself. The scenery and lighting sets a dark tone for the film, cladding the onscreen world with dirty off-white marble tiles, forever humming and glowing florescent lighting, industrial concrete dirt and neutral colours. This works as a brilliant canvas for the story, as well as the darker fantasy/dream elements, which grow towards an underground rave. It does also live-out some long thought out fantasies, being able to run down the tracks from platform to platform, spending nights wandering around in unused carriages and sliding down escalators.


Kontroll is a brilliant debut film with guts and character - it’s a shame Nimród Antal has gone on to direct mediocre Hollywood blockbusters after such a promising start. Full to the brim with atmosphere and personality, with characters that keep you glued to the screen. A real treat for any film fan. JP

REVIEW: DVD Release: Man Bites Dog

Film: Man Bites Dog
Release date: 9th October 2000
Certificate: 18
Running time: 92 mins
Director: Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel & Benoît Poelvoorde
Starring: Benoît Poelvoorde, Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel
Genre: Crime
Studio: Tartan
Format: DVD
Country: Belgium

Shot on a shoestring budget by a group of Belgian film students, this documentary-style black comedy went on to win numerous awards at Cannes, and across Europe.

Ben is a charismatic serial killer who makes his by living stealing from his hapless victims. Joined by a group of filmmakers, Ben is given a chance to share his wisdoms with the world, from explaining the intimate details of how to sink a dead body, to the mating patterns of pigeons.

Taking the crew through his daily routine of murder, thievery and rape, he still finds time to introduce them to his family and friends. As the relationship between Ben and the crew develops, they find themselves plunged further and further into his world, dealing with deaths, rivalries and other such “occupational hazards” to their own lives, but all the time keeping an unshakeable commitment to their film...


Simultaneously directed by and starring a group of adventurous film students, it would be easy to expect something run of the mill, it is, however, far from this. Its documentary style fits perfectly, constantly crossing and blurring lines between reality and fiction, achieving a realistic and believable mock documentary. From Shane Meadows' Le-Donk Vs Scor-Zay-Zee back to Spinal Tap, no other mock documentary film has possessed the subtlety which makes this such a success.

This falls massively on the shoulders of Benoît Poelvoorde as the films anti-hero Ben. His role as poet, philosopher-cum-serial killer is powerful enough to move from loveable to truly disgusting within a single sentence. The film opens with a brutal murder, portrayed with shocking reality and raw, unrelenting detail, though this is instantly contradicted with the almost cartoon-like Ben explaining the techniques for sinking the dead bodies of midgets and children in a brilliantly dark yet hilarious tone (this sets you up perfectly for the remainder of the film).

Our misguided leading man sees himself as a man of high society, known in exclusive circles of the art world, as well as a musician, food and drink connoisseur, boxer extraordinaire and poet. A generous, loving, well educated scholar, he is naturally made to be a star. This is far from true, with Ben being a twisted macabre character - racist, sexist, perverted and exploitive but with tongue so deeply in cheek it's almost coming out the other side. A wannabe Hannibal Lector, but more akin to The Office’s David Brent.

The ability of this film to truly move between the realms of reality and fiction is its true genius. Ben's family are the best example of this. They are the filmmakers’ family, in true low budget student film style, yet seem so attuned to the presence of the camera, it borders on documentary, yet Ben stands among them with such comfort and style that you can truly believe he is part of this family unit, with all its charm and character still so intact.

This is complimented by a technical knowledge that sits almost invisible within its own surroundings that it draws you in all the more. Seamless editing brings you through what could so easily be quite a long drawn out scene in a matter of seconds. At times feeling like a precursor to the likes of The Blair Witch Project, it can shock and disorient with skilful use of sound and handheld camera techniques - in fact, the last shot of the film is near identical to that of The Blair Witch Project. Also, when Ben robs a suburban household after being mocked by the film crew for only preying on old women, the death of the whole family is shown in realism and style with handheld camera shaking its way through woods and darkness.

The film does drag towards the end, when the film takes a more serious turn - losing its otherwise masterful sense of pace and rhythm in what feels like an attempt to hit the feature length time limit, but this does not take away from the enjoyment of this cult classic. The biggest compliment is that the film rarely reveals its student film roots, whilst mocking them with a sensibility that gives it a depth missing from so many films of a similar ilk.


A true masterpiece and a cornerstone for low budget film, Man Bites Dog (C'est Arrivé Près De Chez Vous) is created with such skill and creativity that it shall remain a timeless classic forever deserved of its cult reputation. JP