Barking Dogs Never Bite is written & directed by Bong Joon-ho and stars Sung-jae Lee, Doona Bae, Hie-bong Byeon, Su-hee Go and Ho-jung Kim.
An idle part-time college lector is annoyed by the yapping sound of a near-by dog. He decides to take drastic action.
Bong Joon-ho is a critically-acclaimed, visionary director who has created some of cinema's finest moments; be it cinematography, editing or storytelling, he has made a name for himself and is most definitely one to look out for. But, what kickstarted this successful career? A little film called Puhran Dah Suh Uigeh, translated as Barking Dogs Never Bite. The question is, how good is it?
The answer; very good. Even though the story seems unadorned, this is an incredibly intricate experience, featuring compelling visuals, brilliant performances, smart editing and the foundation of Joon-ho's unique staging technique. He allows actors to perform with their body, eyes and hands, as a way of attracting the viewers attention, further propelling the story forward. This can be seen in the scene where the Janitor (Hie-Bong Byeon) is telling the tale of Boiler Kim in the apartment complex basement. Ensemble staging becomes a great part of Joon-ho's films, especially in Memories of Murder, but this is where it started. The performances from Sung-jae Lee and Doona Bae are satisfyingly entertaining, and although never branching out to anything more dynamic, they both complement each other well and keep the film running trippingly.
Original music by Sung-woo Jo is strangely fitting and enjoyable, being a well- developed framework that sounds simplistic yet never venturing too far as to distract the viewer.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, editing is a huge part of any film, and so should be treated with absolute care. I imagine Joon-ho had a watchful eye over Eun Soo Lee in the editing process. There are moments where it's sharp and fast-paced and others slow and steady, it all depends on the pace and rhythm of the scene. It's also hard to place the genre of this film, it's sold as a dark comedy, but here and there are drops of horror/thriller themes, which really adds to the originality of this film and aids its director.
It was incredibly difficult to come by a copy of this film with English subtitles attached, so I only hope the version I watched was accurate and true to the original dialogue. However, I feel the experience would stay very much the same without any understanding of the spoken language. It's all told through visuals and body-language which is likely why Bong Joon-ho's work is so widely respected by most audiences.
Verdict; I truly believe that anyone studying film, or looking to work in the industry, should take a look at the work of Joon-ho, if only to gain more of an understanding of how stories can be told not just through words, but through movement and emotion. While Barking Dogs Never Bite is a simple concept, it's captured beautifully through visuals.
Puhran Dah Suh Uigeh (Barking Dogs Never Bite), 8/10.
