Bong Joon-ho's directorial debut is a cruel yet crazy, demented yet hilarious, and dark yet light- hearted delight that finds the then new filmmaker trying to carve his own distinct narrative style and although it is less refined that his subsequent works, it manages to be a fun & engaging sit from start to finish.The story of Barking Dogs Never Bite follows an out-of-work individual who, irritated by the sound of barking dogs in his apartment building, resorts to abducting them. Meanwhile, a young girl who works at the apartment complex decides to look into the matter of missing dogs after she receives several complaints from the tenants.Written & directed by Bong Joon-ho, it's amazing just how confidently crafted his first feature film is. Opening with a scene that's going to upset & infuriate many pet lovers, Bong only goes forward with his wicked sense of humour, coupled with his idiosyncratic set of characters, and manages to come up with several memorable moments out of nothingness.The screenplay isn't a weak aspect but it did require a bit more polishing. The apartment building provides an ideal setting for its plot to unfold, Camera is skilfully utilised throughout the movie & captures every segment in fine detail, Editing tries to balance its numerous subplots & pacing but succeeds only partially while its amusing vibe is kept alive by its adventurous score.Coming to the performances, Barking Dogs Never Bite packs an eccentric set of characters, all of whom are expertly brought to life by its lively cast and whether it's the dog-abducting protagonist, his pregnant wife, the disengaged bookkeeper, her fat roommate, building's janitor, homeless guy or the yapping dogs, every single one of them manage to leave their little footprints in the end.On an overall scale, Barking Dogs Never Bite is a fascinating start to Bong Joon-ho's now revered filmmaking career, and makes use of all the storytelling elements that he would go on to perfect in his later films. Treating its subject matter in a bold yet funny fashion, giving every character their fair share of screen time, and rendered on the film canvas with passion & sincerity, Barking Dogs Never Bite is well deserving of a broader audience.

I'm leaving this review to hopefully attract even the smallest bit of attention to this incredible film, that is sadly so hidden to mainstream and fringe film audiences alike. I believe Bong Joon Ho is one of the greatest modern filmmakers, who has gained a strong following due to films such as Memories of Murder (2003): a bleak and haunting serial-killer masterwork, The Host (2006): a comic and gripping creature feature, Mother (2009): an unexpected and layered murder mystery, and Snowpiercer (2013): a breathtaking Orwellian Sci-Fi tour de force based on a French graphic novel. If you are new to the world of Bong Joon Ho, I highly recommend all of these works. However his debut film, Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), is a much lesser-known work of his, but despite its lower budget and smaller scale, I believe it to be one of his finest creations.Danny Boyle once said: "I think your first film is always your best film. Always. It may not be your most successful or your technically most accomplished, whatever. It is your best film in a way because you never, ever get close to that feeling of not knowing what you're doing again. And that feeling of not knowing what you're doing is an amazing place to be. If you can cope with it and not panic, it's amazing. It's guesswork, inventiveness and freshness that you never get again." I feel that this quote summarizes why Barking Dogs Never Bite is such an amazing film. It was Bong's passion project, and even though he lacked the experience and guidance that makes his later works so great, he had a nervous and adventurous tenacity that couldn't be replicated in the future. I definitely believe this to be Bong Joon Ho's most personal film, and one that analyzes the interactions between characters. I won't waste time discussing specific plot points or characters/character actions; that's the film's job. What I do want to share are the subtle themes included throughout the film that have resonated with me.Probably the most prevalent theme throughout the film is chasing one's dreams...or at least what one believes to be one's dreams. Yun-ju ultimately wishes to gain employment as a college professor, and is determined to do whatever is necessary to achieve this goal. But is this surely what he wants, or is it just what he thinks he wants? How do we even know what we want in life is what we truly want? It's not like we have achieved that goal to know if it is actually what we were expecting it to be. It is common to have a goal in life in which, once achieved, doesn't bring as much satisfaction as it was originally speculated to bring. Or it even may end up being something that you didn't want at all. The opening wilderness and closing curtain shots of this film, in relation to how they tie into the theme of achieving falsely desired goals is flawless filmmaking. Hyeon-nam has a similar experience with achieving desired goals. This film has several set pieces that play off of one another like a domino effect, which usually peaks my interest when accomplished properly (as it was here). There are also one or two segments of the film that have very little to no relation to the overarching story, but were executed incredibly. Specifically, one scene where the janitor tells a story about the building's boiler room, which introduces such a sudden change of tone, but is handled so skillfully. I really appreciate when directors are able to break the conventions of filmmaking like so, while still making it work to their benefit. This movie is also absolutely hilarious (probably Bong's most comedic), but the humor is very dark. That being said, there are so many witty, honest, humane, and even sadistic moments that made me laugh and smirk.There are a few warnings that I would like to share. First off, there are a few scenes that depict animal cruelty and canine consumption (I'm a dog lover, so don't think that just because you love dogs you won't be able to watch this movie). However, literally the first thing you see when watching this film is text that states "No animals were harmed in making this film." You have to remember that at the end of the day, you're watching a movie, and the events depicted on screen are not real. On the other hand, Bong Joon Ho is also portraying how animals (specifically dogs) are viewed and treated in South Korea. The consumption of dog is not too uncommon, and that's a cold hard fact that you'll have to stomach (pun intended), not only while watching this film, but throughout life in general. In short, Bong Joon Ho depicts lifestyles that actually exist, despite seeming uncommon and harsh to other cultures. Secondly, I acknowledge that this film might not be for everyone. This is a small scale and personal dark comedy about human interactions. The pacing is slow, there is no action, and I wouldn't use "pure entertainment" as a term to define this film. But if you have patience and are able to give Bong Joon Ho a chance to guide you through his quirky little story, I believe this film can provide unique gratification. It may be hard to get your hands on a copy, but I highly suggest going through the effort to do so. This is a true gift to cinema, even though it's hidden so far beneath all the others that only very few have uncovered it.If you enjoyed this film and want to see which others I recommend, or you'd like to see my taste of films to decide if this film would be worth watching for you, feel free to check out this list: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls052767730/

Bong Joon-ho's debut film might just be his best work. Of course, he would later go on to direct Memories of Murder, The Host and Mother. Lee Sung-jae plays a grad student who is trying desperately to work his way to a nearly impossible-to-get professorship. He's henpecked by his very pregnant wife, and, to make matters worse, one of his apartment neighbors has a yippy dog that is just driving him mad. When he encounters the pooch outside its home unattended, he decides to solve the problem in a drastic way. Barking Dogs Never Bite is a black comedy. Very black, of course. You'd think it'd be impossible to laugh at a movie where dogs get hurt, but the movie is frequently hilarious. We can't sympathize too greatly with Lee, obviously, and the film wisely has a second protagonist, played by the always remarkable Bae Doo-na. She witnesses Lee's crime and attempts to do something about it. The plot is nice and twisty, always topping itself with its next movement. It's really one of the best written films I've seen in a while. Bong's follow-ups are all very good, but they have a weird mixture of drama and comedy. The comedy in them sometimes feels out-of-place. That's pretty much his style nowadays. Barking Dogs Never Bite isn't much like them. The comedy and drama are more organically meshed. I think it's a masterpiece.

Flandersui gae a/k/a Barking Dogs Never Bite (BONG Joon-ho, 2000)Perhaps the funniest movies I've seen since "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". The first thing one sees in this film, before even the credits is the reassurance "No animals were harmed in making this film" -- and the warning is needed -- at least for dog lovers or overly-sensitive souls.The movie tells the tale of a would-be professor (LEE Sung-jae), currently laid off until he can bribe his way into a permanent appointment, who grows increasingly fed up about yippy dogs in his rather down-scale apartment mega-complex. He decides to "do something about this" -- which leads to a chain of increasingly disastrous events. THEN, his soon-to-deliver spouse buys a poodle of her own -- which he proceeds to lose. While desperately searching for his wife's dog, he runs across a helper (BAE Doo-na) -- who is looking for the culprit who has caused other neighborhood dogs to disappear.Despite my vast affection for dogs, the "robust" dog-related humor of this film was nonetheless hilarious. The performances of both leads are first-rate (and I would rate BAE Doo-na's gifts as a physical comedian as being in the league of Lucille Ball). Even so, BYUN Hee-bong, a janitor with a very "special" affection for dogs (at least for one specific purpose), practically steals the show. Indeed, at one point he literally STOPS the show -- as he takes five or so minutes to recount (leisurely) the tale of a ghostly master boiler repairman.The direction and cinematography are as superb as the comic acting and story and dialog. Surprisingly, the film ends on a morally uplifting (non-sappy, non-hackneyed) note -- as forgiveness is delivered with a lost shoe. If I gave ratings, this would get a 10+.