Yes film aficionados, it's the movies you've been waiting for! In the action adventure/black comedy tradition of "Pulp Fiction" comes the first foray into the violent thrill genre from Denmark - IN CHINA THEY EAT DOGS! Let's take a look at the tasty concoction director Lasse Spang Olsen has ensembled, shall we?

The bedroom alarm goes off; it's another day in the rather dreary life of bank worker Arvid Blixton. Arvid has very little personality, leading his girlfriend Henne to comment he's the 'most boring man in the world." Good intentions and a kind heart don't pay the bills, of course. Meanwhile, an American walks into a bar (insert joke) and tells the barkeep he's waiting for one Arvid Blixton - a man he's never met. Cut to the bank - a pitiful Arvid gets an earful from the leader of a rock band he's denied a loan for; they threaten to 'kick his ass' if they see him again. Arvid commiserates with his fellow employee Henning, trying out his new squash racket, when out of the blue an armed gunman storms into the bank. The cad kicks the receptionist and humiliates a blubbering Henning before turning his attention to the safe. All but forgotten, Arvid whacks the robber with the squash racket.

The local news calls Arvid a hero, and his bosses at the bank give him a two-week holiday as a thank you gesture. Excited (for once), Arvid races home to tell Henna the news, but she's gone. As in left the schmuck with a barren flat, with a jaunty 'fuck you Arvid' spray painted on the wall. The doorbell rings, and when Arvid answers, a young woman bursts in and assaults the hapless man. It's the girlfriend of Franz - the robber. She asks Arvid why he stopped Franz - they needed the money in order to have a baby (artificial insemination isn't cheap.) Arvid is upset by this turn of events, and things get even worse when he runs into the still seething rock band - they kick his ass. Once back home, Arvid calls Henne, but she absolutely refuses to consider coming back to him - she thinks Arvid is a big old lire.

Down in the dumps, Arvid visits his estranged brother Harald, who owns a restaurant and happens to be an ex-con. Arvid has decided he needs to put things right - his actions cost two people happiness, so he has to make good by them. He asks his brother to help him rob the bank so Franz and his girl can have their baby. Harald agrees - Arvid is his brother, after all. Harald outlines the plan to his assistants Martin and Peter (the cooks), and even presses Serbian dishwasher (and illegal immigrant) Vuk into service. It all looks good on paper, but you know what they say about the best-laid plans...From here, IN CHINA THEY EAT DOGS hurtles headlong into a complex brew of explosions, Serbian gangsters, delicious pasta, flying bullets, mistaken identity, revenge, dead rock bands, C-4 plastique, jailbreaks, peanuts and a philosophical debate on Heaven & Hell. Believe it or not, Olsen pulls it off.

Cut whole cloth from its influences of Tarintino and Guy Ritchie, IN CHINA THEY EAT DOGS nonetheless presents it's own unique spin on the dark comedy gangster film. The movie intertwines two seemingly different storylines of Arvid and the American stranger, which play with our sense of time (much like 'Pulp Fiction') until they tie up nicely at the end. Director Olsen does a nice job of paralleling the movie with the evolution of his main character. Arvid is a total wallflower at the beginning, and we join him as his world, and the film, grows increasingly out-of-control, with an ever-increasing dark gallows humor. The characters are allowed to flourish without heavy dialogue because of the excellent acting by all the leads. One can't help but sympathize with the nerdish Arvid- even if his thinking does defy any smidgen of logic. Harald is intense in desire to help his brother, even if he doesn't understand the 'whys', and Martin & Peter add color as the loyal assistants who much rather cook than shoot. The sense of family is paramount, from Arvid & Harald's re-bonding to the Serbian brotherhood's reaction to the plight of one of their own. (Poor Vuk can't catch a break). A neat twist to IN CHINA THEY EAT DOGS is the finale is like something out of a Bergman film, yet its quirky humor works considering the violence that gets us there - a coda to a grand symphony, if you will. The picture quality is excellent; as Arvid gets in deeper; it's reflected in the film, as the colors grow more muted. Both inside and location shots are well lit and staged foe maximum effect. Audio is clean and clear, but there is a noticeable jump in volume when music plays (although this quirk does not effect dialogue scenes, only montages & transitions.) The film is subtitled from the original Danish, although English is spoken (and subtitled as well) in the bar scenes. IN CHINA THEY EAT DOGS is a fine example of a film that slowly sets the audience up in the first reel, than builds to a screaming finale that leaves one saying "wow."

IN CHINA THEY EAT DOGS has been released as part of the International Film Festival collection by TLA Releasing. They include on the DVD the obligatory previews and film trailer, as well as a still gallery. There is a short series of behind the scenes footage, which is amusing (and subtitled) I would have liked some info on the cast and crew to see what other projects they have been involved with, because I definitely would like to see more of their work.

I really didn't know what to expect from IN CHINA THEY EAT DOGS, and the film impressed me. From intriguing characters to blazing gun battles, black comedy scenarios to a bizarre, but strangely fitting, finale, IN CHINA THEY EAT DOGS is an off-the-wall action/comedy film with a dose of Danish uniqueness worthy of it's influences. Quentin would love this picture.