I Kina spiser de hunde (1999)

Director:

Lasse Spang Olsen

Writer:

Anders Thomas Jensen (screenplay)

Release Date:

10 September 1999 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy | Action

Plot:

Two brothers, one cold and ruthless, the other sensitive and reluctant, and their brutal misadventures.

Plot Keywords:

Name Of Country In Title | Angel | Bank | Bar | Cooking

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Kim Bodnia	...	Harald
Dejan Cukic	...	Arvid
Nikolaj Lie Kaas	...	Martin
Tomas Villum Jensen	...	Peter
Peter Gantzler	...	Franz
Trine Dyrholm	...	Hanne
Line Kruse	...	Astrid
Brian Patterson	...	Vuk
Søren Sætter-Lassen	...	Henning (as Søren Sætter Lassen)
Lester Wiese	...	Richard
Jesper Christensen	...	Bartender
Lasse Lunderskov	...	Jørgen
Preben Harris	...	Erling
Slavko Labovic	...	Ratko
Zarko Labovic	...	Onkel (Uncle)
Vasilije Bojicic	...	Onkel (Uncle)
Vojkan Fatic	...	Onkel (Uncle)
Nikola Labovic	...	Onkel (Uncle)
Milutin Garevic	...	Onkel (Uncle)
Anna-Britt Mathiasen	...	Gunna (as Anna Britt Mathiassen)
Martin Spang Olsen	...	Preben
Red Warszawa	...	Rockband (Rock band)
Niels Brinch	...	Interviewer
Emil Øigaard	...	Vagt 1 (Guard 1)
Erik Holmey	...	Vagt 2 (Guard 2)
B.S. Christiansen	...	Betjent 1 (Police officer 1)
Jonas Schmidt	...	Betjent 2 (Police officer 2)
Jesper Find	...	Astrids nabo (Astrid's neighbour)
Christina Birksø	...	Ung pige i bank (Young girl in bank)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vanja Bajicic	...	Onkel (Uncle)

Directed by
Lasse Spang Olsen

Writing credits
Anders Thomas Jensen		(screenplay)

Produced by
Michael Brask	....	executive producer
Steen Herdel	....	producer

Original Music by
George Keller

Cinematography by
Morten Søborg

Film Editing by
Lasse Spang Olsen

Production Design by
Robert Grant

Set Decoration by
Bent E.

Makeup Department
Charlotte Laustsen	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Elise Lund Larsen	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ian Kroch	....	assistant director

Art Department
Jacob Stig Olsson	....	property master (as Jakob Stig Olsson)
Tobias Tømming	....	property master

Sound Department
Rolf Auhagen	....	dialogue editor
Benni Christiansen	....	sound mixer
Brian Christiansen	....	sound mixer
Morten Degnbol	....	sound
Lars Lund	....	sound assistant
Diresh Mirehandani	....	sound editor (as Diresh Mirchandani)
Clive Taylor	....	sound designer: Power Post

Special Effects by
Lars Andersen	....	special effects technician (as Lars Kolding Andersen)
Hummer Høimark	....	special effects coordinator: Dansk Special Effekt Service
Ilja Jonbak Nielsen	....	special effects assistant (as Ilja Jon Bak Nielsen)
Kim B. Petersen	....	special effects runner (as Kim Petersen)

Visual Effects by
Steen Lyders Hansen	....	Inferno artist
Andreas Rostock	....	Inferno artist
Martin Wells	....	digital grader: Philips Spirit Datacine, The Warehouse A/S

Stunts
Michael Einspor	....	stunt props: Einspor MC-produktion
Terry Forestal	....	stunts (as Terry Forrestal)
Steen Herdel	....	stunts
Ole Jensen	....	stunt props
Lasse Spang Olsen	....	stunt coordinator
Lasse Spang Olsen	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Anders Askegaard	....	still photographer
Jesper Find	....	assistant camera
Hans Jacob Hansen	....	lighting assistant
Thomas Neivelt	....	lighting supervisor
Ricki Rasmussen	....	clapper loader (as Ricki Bering Rasmussen)
Otto Stenov	....	lighting supervisor
Jesper With	....	lighting technician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eva Nauman	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Jesper Andersen	....	post-production coordinator
Tómas Gislason	....	teaser trailer editor
Christell Moe	....	post-production coordinator: Digital Film Lab
Lasse Spang Olsen	....	teaser trailer editor

Other crew
Mark Andersen	....	runner
Pernille Thorup Andersen	....	production assistant
Thomas Bue Schultz	....	film recordist: The Warehouse
B.S. Christiansen	....	weapons coordinator
Stine Monty Freddie	....	script supervisor
Niels Frederik	....	chef: Restaurant F
Lothar Friis	....	weapons coordinator
Hans Ib Noe Hansen	....	on-line technician
Martin Hansen	....	production assistant
Camilla Hjersing	....	runner
P.K. Jensen	....	weapons coordinator
Mogens Kløvedal	....	consultant: TV2
Jakob Larsen	....	runner
Thomas Ravn	....	location scout
Matthias Kromann Rode	....	runner
Sille Rebekka Tikøb	....	production assistant (as Sille Tikjøb)

Thanks
Tómas Gislason	....	thanks
Søren Hvestendal	....	thanks: Vejafdelingens Forvaltningskontor
Birger Møller Jensen	....	thanks
Erik Klenum	....	thanks: DS Industrien
Jan Krogsgård	....	thanks
Per Falk Larsen	....	thanks: Vejafdelingens Forvaltningskontor
Nikoline Hede Madsen	....	thanks
Eddie Simonsen	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Steen Herdel Filmproduktion
• Scanbox Danmark (in cooperation with)
• TV2 Danmark (in cooperation with)

Distributors

• EnterTech Home Entertainment Inc. (2001) (USA) (subtitled)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2001) (video)
• Scanbox Danmark (Denmark)
• TLA Releasing (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• TiMe Filmverleih (Germany)

Special Effects

• Dansk Speciel Effekt Service

Other Companies

• Det Danske Filminstitut  financing
• Amagerbanken  thanks
• Apple  thanks
• Autonorden  thanks
• Bendixen Biler A/S  thanks
• Blegdamsvejens Fængsel  thanks
• Café Langebro (København)  thanks
• Columbus Film  thanks
• DS Industrien  thanks
• Destiny-601  inferno effects
• Digital Film Lab  post-production coordination
• Einspor MC-produktion  stunt props
• Fritidsagenten  thanks
• H.B.J. Transport  stunt props
• Hertz Biludlejning A/S  thanks
• Hotel- og Restaurantskolen  thanks
• Københavns Havn  thanks
• Københavns Politi  thanks
• Meka Møbelcenter A/S  thanks
• Musikbranchens Reklamebureau  graphical design
• Nybolig  thanks
• Omega Watches  thanks
• Parken  thanks
• Power Post Audio  sound design
• Rock Island  thanks
• Sun Studie  mixing studio
• Søren Hvalsø A/S  thanks
• The North Face  thanks
• The Warehouse  digital color grading
• The Warehouse  film recording
• Tuborg  thanks
• Vejafdelingens Forvaltningskontor  thanks

Also Known As:

In China They Eat Dogs (UK) (USA)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish | English | Serbo-Croatian | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:MA | Denmark:15 | Germany:18 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Café Langebro, Copenhagen, Denmark

Company:

Steen Herdel Filmproduktion

Goofs:

Continuity: The alarm clock in the opening sequence shows 6:45 am and a while later, it starts beeping but still shows 6:45 am.

Quotes:

Richard: Come with me, Arvid. You're going to heaven with me.
Arvid: Heaven? What about the rock musicians? I killed a whole rock band!

Movie Connections:

Followed by Gamle mænd i nye biler (2002)

An awesome modern Danish movie

Reviewing a movie like this is a tough one, to say the least. The action takes place in inner-city Copenhagen, Denmark, and knowing the background culture and language of this location is a very large part of being able to fully appreciate this film.

The story starts out as a relatively normal one about a bank clerk who averts a bank robbery, mostly by chance, is interviewed on national telivision, yet somehow still manages to bore his girlfriend enough for her to dump him, all in the same day. It then takes a surreal twist as the wife of the now jailed bank robber barges into his apartment and gives him a guilt trip about why he couldn't just have let the bank robber take the money so she could get the expensive operation she needs for them to be able to have a much-wanted baby. The bank clerk is mightily confused by all this, and approaches his criminal brother with ideas of robbing one of the bank's cash-transport vehicles (in a rather special way) and helping the bank robber of of jail in order to reunite them and make things well again.

This is when one discovers the true nature of the film.

The bank clerk's brother is basically a complete psycho with his own very special right/wrong codex (at one point he tells us how in China it is ok to eat dogs, and that it's up to oneself what is right and wrong - hence the title). As things progress, it becomes clear the movie is quite un-serious, and it becomes very easy to just sit back and enjoy the bizarre and often twisted situations that arise.

Two young chain-smoking chefs working for the criminal brother deliver the much-needed comical relief, responding to the brother's orders of dumping yet another corpse out in the Danish marsh with lines like "But.. but we're just cooks"!

It is impossible to really do the movie justice with any form of narration. Much of the action would sound very disturbing if retold, but when seen along with the characters' expressions and in light of the whole movie, including the refreshingly unexpected ending, it is hard to take very seriously.

The dialogue of the movie, reminiscent of classics like Pulp Fiction and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, is what really shines through. As the story unfolds and becomes more and more far-fetched, each line of dialogue becomes a stand-alone punchline in as of itself, leaving most audiences (at least the ones I've been with) roaring with laughter.

Kim Bodnia of "Nattevagten" (1994), "Pusher" (1996) and "Bleeder" (1999) fame delivers yet another stunning performance as the psycho criminal brother who puts his version of family values above anything else in life (including the lives of anybody else in his way) - just like the rivaling gang of ethnic heritage do in the film.

A must-see for anyone with an appreciation for twisted humor, especially if one is in a position to appreciate all the references to the background culture - though probably a bit hard to swallow for some (read: reserved) people.