C'est arrivé près de chez vous / Man Bites Dog

[pro-bassoonist]

C'est arrivé près de chez vous - Set to be released in France on December 2. Courtesy of Universal-France.

Variety:

Reality programming meets Henry . . . Portrait of a Serial Killer in Man Bites Dog, an offbeat, darkly hilarious portrait of a freelance hit man whose every move is recorded by a documentary film crew. Well served in black & white verite-style lensing, mordant send-up of questionable newsgathering practices was written, produced, directed by and stars a Franco-Belgian trio whose first feature provides clever patter with its splatter.

A youthful hit man (Benoit Poelvoorde) is both a philosopher and a man of action. When he's not killing people (two dozen graphic murders are committed during the film), he plays chamber music and recites poetry. He scares an old woman into cardiac arrest in order to save bullets, then strips the house of hidden cash. In one great bit, he slaughters a rival team of reporters simply because they are using videotape instead of stock film.

With evolving irony, camera crew is not immune to danger or from the seductive lure of the hit-man lifestyle. At first reluctant even to dine with their immoral subject, crew graduates to joining in on the gang rape and disembowelment of a woman in her own home. Not for the righteous or the squeamish, irreverent film follows through to its logical conclusion.

Pro-B