a killer comedy

It's no secret that I am a fan of some seriously intense films, but Man Bites Dog tested my limits when I watched it tonight with its brutal depiction of a veritable catalog of violent atrocities.  I also think it is utterly fucking brilliant.  The movie opens with a scene of a woman being strangled to death in a train car by a young man named Ben, and then cuts straight to Ben sitting with the corpse on the edge of a canal good-naturedly explaining his formulas for how to weight a dead body to make sure it sinks.  Ben, you see, is a psychopath, but he is also the charismatic subject of a documentary by filmmakers André and Rémy, who at first maintain a passive compliance by merely filming Ben's crimes but before too long are committing horrifying acts themselves.  Actors Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel and Benoit Poelvoorde also directed the film back in 1992 when reality TV was only first beginning to gain a foothold in popular culture, and the satire has a very strong message about how media can make itself complicit in the violence or just downright unfortunate behavior it portrays.  I did not exactly laugh out loud, but there is a certain sardonic humor in moments like the one when the film crew encounters their doppelgangers after a shooting spree at Ben's hideout in the form of another crew following the gangster Ben has just killed.  I just don't think I'm going to sleep very well tonight.