Barking Dogs Never Bite

Duncan Gray

A wonderful dark slice of absurdism. File it next to The Tenant, only it's better—a Kafkaesque fish tank that all its misfits (frustrated at best, destitute at worst) can swim around in. Unlike Bong's later films, it isn't so easily associated with a genre, thus allowing his view of institutional dysfunction and demented human foibles to carry the show. A strong start.

Wee Hunk

A perfect first film. It doesn't need to have grandiose ambitions. It tells the story in an original and stylish way.

Rafael Zen

I understand the overflow of cinema references: it's a thriller, a dark comedy, a romance, a drama: but somehow it gets lost to me. I like the urban mood and it makes me want to know those places, but at the end I got tired of the conflicting plots. I wish it had more art to it.

Zachary George Najarian-Najafi

A taste of things to come from Bong Joon-ho. This is a deliciously darkly-comic piece of cinema that had me bursting out laughing at times. Full of quirky characters and absurd situations, this one isn't to be missed.

vxpl

A movie filled with irony. Had some cliché moments which were just right for this film. Also enjoyed how it portrayed not only the "dog crisis" but different lives of each character, especially the bits which showed a beautiful friendship between two girls. I never expect a good cinematography from a comedy but this movie was shot wonderfully.

Alexander Dunkelberger

Hilarious, action packed, complex, and at times poignant film. The plot is pretty insane, but full of great cinematic moments and lots of morbidly comic situations. It manages to create empathy and a feeling of real involvement with the characters and the problems they end up facing, even if those problems are often absurdly and darkly humorous.

Armando

Some of the themes of this film will be developed in his later films, the daily life of regular people and the sudden occurrence of heart-breaking, albeit apparently minor, events. This is an original interesting film.

kampton

Terrific: I love the way Joon=ho builds his stories on people's neuroses and eccentricities. The scene in which the guy tricks granny with the grapefruit and kidnaps her dog is typical of his comedy (and his sense of humor) and I could watch it again and again.