382. Mondo cane/A Dog's Life (1962)

Running Time: 105 minutes

Directed By: Paolo Cavara, Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco E. Prosperi

Written By: Paolo Cavara, Gualtiero Jacopetti

Main Cast: Rossano Brazzi, Stefano Sibaldi



SHOCKUMENTARY TIME!



Since it leaves the streaming portion of Netflix tomorrow, I decided I might as well check out "Mondo cane", which has been staring me in the face for a long time now, as I continually pushed it to the side. It just didn't look very appealing to me. Turns out that sometimes...just sometimes, you CAN judge a book by it's cover.



The film is a compilation of possibly/probably fake material that is passed off as real. Upon the films opening, we are told by a narrator that "all the scenes we will see are true and taken only from life". That statement is quickly followed by a clip of an Italian adonis being mauled by a group of dozens of women, as he waits in a department store to get fitted for a new suit - an obviously staged scene. The book cites that certain bits and pieces may be actually real, but that the production is more than likely, wholly faked. The film prides itself on being a trend setter in the world of shockumentary film making, but then boasts scenes that are just plain boring and stupid. I wouldn't classify a group of widowed, senior citizens working out at a gym or a group of elderly Japanese men spending a day at a spa as shocking - but that's just me. Other scenes of note, include tribal ceremonies certain remote islands, a running of the bulls type ceremony, a self flagellation ritual carried out in an Italy during Good Friday and a group of senior citizens trying to learn the hula while on a Hawaiian vacation.



The film is actually quite random in it's presentation. One minute we're watching a woman suckle a piglet, because her own human child has died and the next minute we're watching people eat snakes. Even if the footage was 100%, confirmed real, it still just wasn't always that interesting. There were certain bits and pieces that were just downright stupid and unwanted. I will say, on a positive note, that the film really didn't drag all that much. I didn't find myself watching the clock or being bored. For the most part I just found myself scratching my head and wondering why in God's Earth was this included in a book of "Must See" films. Was it really all that imperative that I watch "Mondo cane" prior to me eventual demise? I don't think so, Tim. Let's call that a review and suffice it to say that maybe you'll find the footage interesting, but I found it to be, for the most part, pointless. Knowing that the majority of the footage is more than likely staged, makes "Mondo cane" even more of a waste of my time and it comes without a recommendation from yours truly.



RATING: 3/10 Man, a '1/10' and a '3/10' in the same week. What's the title of this book again?



MOVIES WATCHED: 323

MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 678



August 15, 2011 4:15pm