Barking Dogs Never Bite
Bong’s debut feature is the work of a preternaturally talented filmmaker already in full command of his medium—and alert to the issues of economic and class disparity that he would continue to explore in works like 2019’s Parasite. The darkly comic, melancholic, and altogether disquieting story of an unemployed young academic (Lee Sung-jae), henpecked into submission by his pregnant wife, whose annoyance with life in general and the endless ambient yapping of a neighboring pooch in particular drives him to desperate extremes—his actions attracting the attention of Bae Doona’s character, a maintenance worker in his building who sees her chance to play sleuth (and perhaps win television news fame) when residents’ dogs start disappearing.
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
DCP