Barking Dogs Never Bite

Bae Doona

Bong Joon-ho's Barking Dogs Never Bite, his debut feature from 2000, is a quirky black comedy with elements of horror. If you are a dog lover, you might want to skip this one, since the plot revolves around the torture, murder, and consumption of our canine friends. Lee Sung-jae plays Yun-ju, a struggling academic, who lives in an large apartment complex in Seoul. Yun-ju is under the thumb of his pregnant wife and is anxious about whether he will get tenured. The incessant yapping of a dog, supposedly not allowed in the complex, drives him over the edge and he resolves to eliminate the mutt. Yun-ju's story is paralleled by that of Hyeen-nam (Bae Doona), a young woman working as a Girl Friday for the company managing the apartment complex. Hyeen-nam coordinates the unofficial investigation into the missing dogs, things have spiraled out of control, and almost nabs the culprit. Hyeen-nam dreams of a moment of heroism that will redeem her humdrum life. A culprit is apprehended, but not the one expected by the audience.

What strikes me as the most consistent attribute of Mr. Bong's work is the quality of his writing, particularly his skill at crafting multi-dimensional supporting characters. Barking Dogs Never Bite contains a number of vivid and memorable supporting roles, especially Byun Hee-bong's janitor. In a nod to Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado", the janitor is given a spooky monologue in the bowels of the apartment building's basement. Indeed, all of the acting in the flick is superb. 

Despite horrific notes, the film's tone is primarily ironic. When Yun-ju thinks he has rid the building of dogs, his wife comes home with a toy poodle. Each character is shown compassion and regarded ambivalently. Bong elicits sympathy for Yun-ju by showing him scraping together a $10,000 bribe for the dean in order to earn tenure. Even the shrewish wife of Yun-ju is allowed a moment of grace when she loses her job due to her pregnancy. Barking Dogs Never Bite addresses a number of societal ills, from sexism to binge drinking, but never feels sanctimonious or preachy. No one is totally good or evil in Bong's cosmos, despite the world being shown as dog eat dog, but the rich fare better than the poor. I recommend Barking Dogs Never Bite which is currently streaming on Tubi.