MOVIE REVIEW . Dog Bite Dog (aka: Gau ngao Gau)

by Chris   ⋅   December 27, 2006   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

There are shocking films, there are violent films, and there are disturbing films, and the occasional picture that combines all three. But rarely do you come across a film that exhibits pure savagery. Pou-Soi Cheang’s Dog Bite Dog is just such a film. Steeped in unbridled brutality and oppressive nihilism, it is a draining, disgusting, alarming film, and somehow, exemplary.

Dog Bite Dog’s tale sees Edison Chen (admittedly, not the most popular guy these days) as Pang, a Cambodian assassin loosed in Hong Kong. Kidnapped and thrust into the world of illegal pit fighting as a child, Pang has been molded into an unfeeling, feral being, — more dog than human. After a rather messy assignment, Pang finds himself on the run from the law; his primary pursuer, Wei (Sam Lee, Gen X Cops), a young headstrong cop with a distinct distaste for the rules (He makes Harry Callahan look kind by comparison). As the two make their way out of the city, the body count rises. But, when Pang’s flight brings him to Pei Pei (Weiying Pei), a young woman with a comparably messed up existence, the slightest seed of humanity takes root. But with death very much an everyday facet of all their lives, what place can compassion possibly hold?

Early on, Dog Bite Dog makes it clear that it is not a picture that plays by the rules. Characters you establish a relationship with are immediately offed. Standard laws of cinematic heroic causality are completely ignored. If things can get worse, they will, tenfold. No one is safe from a potentially terrible fate. Not even the main characters. As such, you really have no idea where the plot will take you from one shocking minute to the next. The disregard for convention is also exhibited in the film’s treatment of Pang. Rarely, if ever does one root for a “heartless killer”, but amazingly, in spite of all the horrible acts he commits, you’re there with Pang, pulling for his safe escape. Certainly, this is aided in no small part by his character’s relationship with Pei Pei, but in the hands of a less competent director even this point would be moot. It is a treatment not unlike that of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, only more focused and determined.

The visual style of Dog Bite Dog is not unlike Michael Mann’s DV extravaganza, Miami Vice. But, while Mann’s film offered a sort of cheap sleaze, Dog Bites Dog wallows in grit. Filthy garbage-scapes, ghettos, and alleyways frame the brutality and blood on screen. The night scenes are colored with harsh fluorescence, the day shots with grimy brown filtration. Furthermore, director Pou-Soi Cheang uses quite a bit of sound, from the film’s eerie score, to mismatched sound effects (growling dogs in the place of punches) to heighten the film’s violence and mood. You actually feel unclean watching it.

But, despite all the praise delivered above, one glaring problem with Dog Bite Dog exists. The film, having reached the end of its thrilling third act, chooses to venture into a slapshod fourth. While this act offers a final punch of shocking elements, it feels forced, juvenile, and bit rushed; completely at odds with the previous 90 minutes. It’s certainly not bad enough to ruin the film, but a looser ending at the logical stopping point would have been far more preferable.

In closing, Dog Bite Dog is probably the most rough and tumble entry you’ll see all year, or the next couple years for that matter. While, relatively unknown in America at this point, expect it to find a place in discerning cult collections in the very near future. Despite its cop out of an ending, Dog Bite Dog is one of the most daring, and best films I’ve seen this year.

About the Author

Chris Nelson has been a film fanatic since age six. A former film and English major, he is now a Software Engineer and contract Technical Writer living in the Silicon Valley.