A film review today. I want to highlight a brilliant film that I saw at a film festival quite a few years ago, and which I subsequently purchased on Amazon. A Danish film written by Academy Award winner Anders Thomas Jensen (for the short film Valgaften), In China They Eat Dogs(I Kina Spiser De Hunde) is a black comedy gangster film.
My fascination with Danish humor will be familiar to those of you who read my piece about Wulffmorganthaler. The Danes have been on the cutting edge of comedy for some time now, especially black humor. How best to describe this film? Try to imagine, if you will, a combination of Reservoir Dogs, A Fish Called Wanda and Dog Day Afternoon. Only it's in Danish. With subtitles.
Right. If that hasn't put you off, keep reading, this really is one of the funniest and most touching films you'll ever see. I nearly wet myself the first time I saw it.
Our hero is Arvid (Dejan Cukic), a young man who lives what he considers a blameless, happy life. He loves his wife, but she thinks he‘s utterly boring, and his brother Harald, a criminal and a restaurateur, but Arvid is the sort of person who lets life happen to him rather than actively seeking out what he needs. At the bank where he works he accidentally foils a robbery one day with his squash racket and becomes a local hero overnight. That is, he accidentally knocks the robber out, much to his horror. His wife then leaves him.
After the thief, Franz, has been jailed, Arvid is approached by Astrid (Line Cruse), a woman claiming to be Franz‘s girlfriend, who is distraught because the robbery was intended to finance IVF treatment for the childless couple. Arvid, being a kind-hearted guy is upset to learn that his accidental good deed has caused unhappiness and decides to make amends with a well-intentioned bad deed that he hopes will reset the balance of karma in his life. He calls upon his brother Harald (Kim Bodnia) to help him commit a robbery whose takings will finance the medical procedure. Harald is a certifiable nut case, which Arvid is blind to because he loves his brother.
The actors are all wonderfully deadpan and blase in the face of the escalating mayhem. The henchmen they press into service are two cooks from Harald's restaurant who should really be called Tweedledum and Tweedledumber. Arvid wears a look of permanently horrified surprise on his face, and the riveting Bodina (Harald) is an actor who can look into the camera for minutes without blinking as his victims stand there helpless and frozen. His callous disregard for the consequences of his actions is fueled by a psychotic assurance that the ends justify the means. This is summarized by Harald's assertion: "Nothing's right, nothing's wrong -- you have to decide for yourself. After all, in China they eat dogs."
At one point they intrude on a rock band in the middle of a practice session and accidentally shoot one of them, leading to Harald deciding they all have to be killed. He justifies it by saying, "what the hell, they're just musicians, there are plenty more of them around." Good and bad are relative, and in the end it's intentions that matter, not actions.
Directed by Lasse Spang Olsen. I believe this was his first film. Made in 1999. He followed it up with a film I haven't gotten around to buying yet, Old Men In New Cars, another black comedy. I hear it's good.
For those with a taste for the offbeat and quirky, this is a must see.
