Movie review time.

Last night I watched the film C'est arrivé près de chez vous (AKA Man Bites Dog). I had a general idea of what I was getting myself into, but the film still managed to sort of shock me.

It is about a group of filmmakers creating a documentary on a serial killer. The crew follows him around as he picks targets, kills them and then educates on why and how he does what he does.

There is a great scene in which the main character gets into a shootout with a rival serial killer. When he dies, we find out that this other killer had a film crew with him and they suffer the same fate. But not before "our" killer asks if the director wants to steal his camera.

The Film is billed mainly as a comedy, something I found odd at first, but then you realize it is filled with a great amount of dark humor. It also becomes clear while watching the movie that it provides a satirical view of the media, violence and how much we have come to accept it in our lives. I think this is the point of the film, and not the seemingly pointless mayhem that people like to dwell on.

There are scenes in the film that are outright disturbing, make no mistake about it, but you always sort of ask yourself why you are watching it and why you are entertained.

I was very surprised by it. But after viewing the film and loving it, it's no wonder it is part of the Criterion Collection. This one is very highly recommended, especially if you want to see something different.