Dog lovers may want to avoid this one, although it's important to note that those who made the film assure everyone that no animals were harmed in the making of it. Directed by Bong Joon-ho, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Song Ji-ho and Derek Son Tae-woong, this is a film that will appeal to anyone who has found themselves driven to a state of temporary insanity by an incessantly barking dog in the neighbourhood. And doesn't every neighbourhood have at least one incessantly barking dog?
Ko Yun-ju (Lee Sung-jae) is a young man struggling to find the right job. He wants to become an academic professor, but the best way to get that kind of job seems to involve bribe his way through any interview process. That would take money that he doesn't really have, especially with his partner (Eun-sil, played by Kim Ho-jung) being pregnant with their first child. Meanwhile, Park Hyun-nam (Bae Doona) dreams of becoming famous one day, perhaps by foiling some robbery or crime. There's also a barking dog, as well as a dog that is unable to bark. I hope those two don't get mixed up in a way that seriously impacts the main characters.
The feature directorial debut from Joon-ho, who would ensure that his sophomore feature would overshadow so many of his other films (that is Memories Of Murder, and you NEED to see it), Barking Dogs Never Bite is a dark and odd film, but not without moments of comedy. As long as you can accept that the onscreen dogs are in grave danger. It also has the kind of social commentary that can be found in so many of his films, although it's easy to overlook any of that as the characters are moved into the spaces needed to bring situations clashing against one another.
Sung-jae is very good as the nominal lead, and Ho-jung works well alongside him, but everyone is overshadowed by the brilliant Doona, who portrays her characters with a winning blend of optimism, good intentions, and just a bit of mopiness. Go Soo-hee also does good work, playing a friend of the character played by Doona, and Kim Jin-goo makes a strong impression, not just due to the fact that she is the owner of the barking dog.
Although a smaller scale than other films from Joon-ho, this is made with no less care or skill. It's plotted well, tying everything together in a way that will be familiar to fans of crime thrillers that make great use of some unhappy coincidences (the word "Coen-esque" could be applied here), and the performances help to keep the tone surprisingly light even as a number of sequences move around some dark and disturbing content.
Impressive and engrossing, and, in a way that plays out like an inversion of the title, it manages to be quietly effective as it sinks its teeth into you.
8/10
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