Film Review: Dobermann (1997)
In late 1990s and early 200s Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassell were the supercouple of European cinema. They appeared in nine films together and one of them was Dobermann, 1997 French crime film directed by Jan Kounen.
The film is based on the series of crime novels by Joël Houssin, who also wrote the screenplay. Title protagonist, played by Cassell, is Yann La Petrece a.k.a. “Dobermann”, whose life has been preordained at the earliest age. While being baptised as a baby, huge dobermann has attacked one of his uncles resulting in .357 Magnum revolver in pram. Unsurprisingly, adult Yann uses the same weapon as a way to make a living. He leads the gang of eccentric and half-insane criminals specialised in armed robberies. The latest heist ended successfully, but couple of policemen were killed in pursuit. Frustrated with inability to stop Yann and his gang, authorities reluctantly agree to give the task to Commissioner Cristini (played by Tcheky Karyo), ruthless sadist who uses violence even more than the criminals he is supposed to apprehend. Cristini identifies the weak spot in Yann’s gang. It is Olivier Brachet a.k.a. “Sonia” (played by Stéphane Metzger), a transvestite who gives up location of a night club where Yann and his men are to celebrate their latest job. As well-armed police special forces approach the club Cristini actually doesn’t think of gang’s capture as priority. He has some rather sinister intentions towards Natalie Vidal “the Gypsy” (played by Bellucci), Yann’s deaf and mute girlfriend.
Dobermann was feature debut for Kounen, until that time known only for directing music videos. It shows in the film, which features unusual shooting angles and ultra-rapid editing characteristic for 1990s action cinema. What makes Dobermann different is carefree approach towards extreme content which makes it a black comedy rather than crime film. The violence is overwhelming in its quantity and explicit way it is presented, while sociopathic characters in this film make the worst villains in Tarantino’s film look like choirboys. Kounen also uses furious tempo that would help audience ignore potentially unpleasant and morally questionable content. The cast is disappointing, except in the case of Karyo who obviously has a lot of fun playing arguably the most over-the-top villain of his career. Film, whether by design or accident, features plenty of scenes of dark humour, but viewers, apart from violence, can also find some sex and nudity. The best part of the film, however, is the scene during which Cristini interrogates “Sonia” in front of his parents during family dinner. In this five minute scene Kounen and Karyo succeed in what some film makers like Claude Chabrol were trying to do for a lifetime – they demolish French middle class family. Dobermann is, however, an acquired taste and it could be recommended only to audience accustomed to little bit more extreme content. It is still rough around the edges, but it can still be enjoyed by audience wanting some more European variations on themes of Tarantino.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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