Movielogr

Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)

Directed by Bong Joon Ho

Drama | Comedy | Thriller

Most recently watched by lolareels

Overview

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

Length 110 minutes

Actors

Lee Sung-jae | Bae Doo-na | Byun Hee-bong | Kim Ho-jung | Koh Soo-hee | Kim Roe-ha | Kim Jin-goo | Im Sang-soo | Kwon Hyeok-Pung

Viewing History (seen 1 time)

Date ViewedDeviceFormatSourceRating
02/15/2020TVDVDLibrary8 stars
 

Viewing Notes

Bong Joon Ho definitely has a type. Kinda wild that he’s been addressing similar themes in his films since he started making movies. Despite being 20 years old he could’ve made this movie today and it would be just as relevant.

After Parasite cleaned up at the Academy Awards and basking in the afterglow of what a historic achievement this was, I decided to fill in some gaps in my Bong Joon Ho viewing. Was fortunate that my library had this one on the shelf. I will say that this was not an easy watch since it deals the moral ambiguity of people and they choices they make… specifically around dogs. And even tho there’s a disclaimer up front that no animals were harmed it does not make it any less uncomfortable when you see animals placed in perilous situations.

Yeah this is one I wouldn’t be eager to revisit. I’ve written this note before for another film but this falls into comedy thriller which seems the best way to classify this movie. I had anxiety for most of the runtime yet laughed at some of the absurdity of it all. It’s really bananas this this was Bong Joon Ho’s first directorial feature film. Had I seen this twenty years I would have said this this guy has a big future ahead if he continues making movies.

Doona Bae is so excellent here that it’s no wonder that her career exploded shortly after this. An interview with her is included in the extras where she is quite candid about her career and outlook at the time of this film. It’s easy to forget that she was a fashion model before becoming an actress and yet here in her first feature as a leading actress she is a natural. It’s clear that this film became a big point in her life that has led to her becoming one of the greats in the biz now. Even in this interview she appears nothing like we’re used to seeing her in film; she’s still has her fashion model accruements. She says she knew she would hurt her fame and fanbase by doing this film yet she (at the time of the interview, which was done well after this movie was released) cares about her appearance and fashion. I would venture to say that her attitude as changed since then given how her acting career has blossomed over the last two decades.

tbh I would not have guessed that this was Doona Bae’s first real role that kicked off her career. (She does discuss her first role as a ghost or whatever in The Ring Virus and how she didn’t really do much which was good a transition being a model) She’s just that good in this.

Because of her I would view this movie again even if the content is sometimes upsetting. This is another movie that definitely needs an upgrade treatment. Hopefully that will happen with Bong’s recent success and accolades. This movie also belongs in the Criterion Collection.

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