Man Bites Dog
Last night, Liz got to watch an amazing new film from Hong Kong called Dog Bite Dog. Starring the adorable Edison Chen and awesome Sam Lee, this is, to date, the most violent film Liz has ever seen. Not violent like Miike Takashi films where people get cut in half or the American action films where city blocks get blown up, but the gritty, real violence of breaking thumbs to get out of handcuffs and slowly choking people with leather belts.
The plot is fairly simple: a Cambodian hit man kills some barrister and a cop goes after him. The character development is amazing. Edison Chen as the hit man hardly speaks throughout the entire film as he doesn't understand Cantonese. Raised as a fighter where you have to kill to survive, Chen portrays the first "dog." He kills without mercy, without thinking. Unlike Jet Li in Danny the Dog, there is no brainwashing or room for compassion. This becomes apparent near the beginning of the film where Sam Lee as the cop, along with Lam Suet as a negotiator, follow Chen to an outdoor restaurant. Lam Suet immediately becomes endeared to us as he quietly goes to tables, telling people to leave. (Of course, if you're knowledgeable about Hong Kong cinema at all, seeing Lam Suet should always warm your heart.) Edison Chen is under a table holding a gun to a woman to keep her quiet. The cops realize this and slowly make their way over to the table. Without warning Edison just shoots the woman in the head and holds another man at gunpoint. Things happen: after shooting this man Edison ends up with a knife at Lam Suet's throat. He then slowly pushes the knife sideways through his neck.
But Edison is not just a cold killer who's too cool for school. That's just how he is. It raises the question: if it is your nature to kill, are you evil? But you don't feel sorry for Edison like you do Jet Li's "dog." He's not an abused soul that needs someone to teach him the goodness in the world. He knows the world and his part in it. You find yourself kind of rooting for him, even though he ends up killing, oh let's see...EVERYONE.
And at the same time you root for Sam Lee. Here's a guy who has "the rage." He's that cop that just beats the shit out of people for answers - even when they aren't suspects. But he's not the bad guy. Eventually you learn that his father was a bad cop who dealt drugs - and Sam shot him into a coma. Yeah, this movie has some serious father-son relationships. As the film progresses, Sam Lee becomes another "dog." Revenge fuels him as Edison kills his colleagues and friends. These men are animals and at certain moments when they are fighting the sound of lions fighting covers their own yells.
Oh, and there's a girl in all this. Abused by her father, she is reduced to a different kind of animal state. She becomes the love for Edison's hit man and soon all his actions are motivated by keeping her safe. And they don't speak each other's languages; again adding to the different level of communication that animals have. Though there is a woman here, this is a man's movie. Liz could probably write a whole paper on the role of women in this film.
While about 80% of the film contains fighting, somehow a real story emerges with real characters. The violence is serious - Liz had her hand covering her mouth in horror/disbelief/awe for about half the movie. The end has Edison cutting open a dead girl's pregnant belly to save the baby inside. This, of course, as with all births is a violent process. So this violent film ends with birth and life, even though everyone else is dead. Liz isn't sure how she's supposed to feel, but one thing's for sure: this is not your average Hong Kong bad guy/good guy movie.
The plot is fairly simple: a Cambodian hit man kills some barrister and a cop goes after him. The character development is amazing. Edison Chen as the hit man hardly speaks throughout the entire film as he doesn't understand Cantonese. Raised as a fighter where you have to kill to survive, Chen portrays the first "dog." He kills without mercy, without thinking. Unlike Jet Li in Danny the Dog, there is no brainwashing or room for compassion. This becomes apparent near the beginning of the film where Sam Lee as the cop, along with Lam Suet as a negotiator, follow Chen to an outdoor restaurant. Lam Suet immediately becomes endeared to us as he quietly goes to tables, telling people to leave. (Of course, if you're knowledgeable about Hong Kong cinema at all, seeing Lam Suet should always warm your heart.) Edison Chen is under a table holding a gun to a woman to keep her quiet. The cops realize this and slowly make their way over to the table. Without warning Edison just shoots the woman in the head and holds another man at gunpoint. Things happen: after shooting this man Edison ends up with a knife at Lam Suet's throat. He then slowly pushes the knife sideways through his neck.
But Edison is not just a cold killer who's too cool for school. That's just how he is. It raises the question: if it is your nature to kill, are you evil? But you don't feel sorry for Edison like you do Jet Li's "dog." He's not an abused soul that needs someone to teach him the goodness in the world. He knows the world and his part in it. You find yourself kind of rooting for him, even though he ends up killing, oh let's see...EVERYONE.
And at the same time you root for Sam Lee. Here's a guy who has "the rage." He's that cop that just beats the shit out of people for answers - even when they aren't suspects. But he's not the bad guy. Eventually you learn that his father was a bad cop who dealt drugs - and Sam shot him into a coma. Yeah, this movie has some serious father-son relationships. As the film progresses, Sam Lee becomes another "dog." Revenge fuels him as Edison kills his colleagues and friends. These men are animals and at certain moments when they are fighting the sound of lions fighting covers their own yells.
Oh, and there's a girl in all this. Abused by her father, she is reduced to a different kind of animal state. She becomes the love for Edison's hit man and soon all his actions are motivated by keeping her safe. And they don't speak each other's languages; again adding to the different level of communication that animals have. Though there is a woman here, this is a man's movie. Liz could probably write a whole paper on the role of women in this film.
While about 80% of the film contains fighting, somehow a real story emerges with real characters. The violence is serious - Liz had her hand covering her mouth in horror/disbelief/awe for about half the movie. The end has Edison cutting open a dead girl's pregnant belly to save the baby inside. This, of course, as with all births is a violent process. So this violent film ends with birth and life, even though everyone else is dead. Liz isn't sure how she's supposed to feel, but one thing's for sure: this is not your average Hong Kong bad guy/good guy movie.
