Left Field Cinema

French film Man Bites Dog (C'est arrive pres de chez vous) is in all essence "deniably disturbing" which is exactly the point. It's one of many films that aim to show how the media promotes violence making us tolerant of it. However instead of over exploiting the subject matter like Natural Born Killers and Network, which throughout literally nudge you in the ribs until sore (Don't get me wrong. Both films are perfectly good), Man Bites Dog is a brilliant exercise in verite filmmaking, and although other films hoping to pass along the same point have succeeded, never have they done so in such a refined, commonplace, grittily realistic form. The film follows three young filmmakers shooting a documentary on Benoit (the filmmakers have gone as far as staring and using their own names to continue the style of naturalism). Ben is a working serial killer who uses philosophy and wit to justify his countless murders. Ben likes to pose as a sophisticate having exposure to art, music, and high class food. He talks about his view of aesthetics in the world of architecture, and he consistently likes to recite poems and other such verses. He is very self aware of a the cameras filming him. Often times when he has nothing to say and the cameras still role, he tries and sometimes fails to think of something to say. He is trying to convince the crew that he is a murderous genius. The film is in most cases a scathingly funny dark comedy. The humour is rather obvious in the first quarter of the film. Ben's witty and upbeat remarks, the use of words in certain scenarios, and some of the clever editing are all rather comedic. Plus the fact that the filmmakers don't really want to be associated with Ben outside of the film project. They each come up with rather stupid excuses to get out of dinner with Ben that he planned as celebration for a successful murder of an old woman. however as the film progresses the entertaining "so violent its funny" murders turn into rather disquieting moments in film. There is a family invasion scene that includes the murder of a child through suffocation. There is also a brutal rape scene near the end that is nearly impossible to watch.

After a certain amount of time, the film crew slowly takes part in the crimes after Ben uses the money he steals from his victims to contribute to the shoestring budget. They seem to be slowly passing from the realm of spectator to the realm of participant. This forces self reflection of violence upon the audience. The rape scene is the ultimate transition in the movie. The humour before it was a way of release and entertainment, the humour after the scene is still there, but more sincere and gritty. We still laugh until the end of the film, but only because we are trying to reinstate the humor instead of facing the true nature of the murders depicted on screen. Instead of trying to prove its point by emphasising the wrong in the image, Man Bites Dog proves its point by expressing our denial of the wrong in the image. it is truly a great comedic contemporary film that you will regret having enjoyed after watching.

Christopher Bryant Arnett