In reality there are few things that come out of Belgium that are worth bothering about, one is the now defunct band dEUS who's music has proved the soundtrack to my life recently, and then there is a little film called Man Bites Dog.

This is a very low budget film, but the lack of finances can't disguise what is an excellently acted and made film. The story is a kick back at the fly on the wall documentaries that pollute our TV stations. This film takes it a step further as it's a fly on the wall "pseudo-documentary" about a serial killer and his daily joy of knocking people off for no reason.

The film was made on a minuscule budget of $15,000 by a trio of ex film schoolers in Belgium. Remy Belvaux, Andre Bonzel and Benoit Poelvoorde all directed, wrote, produced and stared in this black and white masterpiece. Poelvoorde stars as the killer Ben, whose penchant for poetry and classical music is in contrast to his senseless slayings.

The film is very dark and contains scenes of murder and rape that are very graphic. Through all of this there is a dark comedy and great character build up, that makes you form affection with the killer even though you see what brutality he is capable of.

Man Bites Dog looks into how close we get to people on TV and whether through this exposure we grow some sort of affinity with them, even if they are cold blooded murderers. Reality TV shows make stars out of even the most horrible people, and this is shown through the film. We grow to like Ben and almost feel sad at the end when he is killed.

It also highlights the sordid nature of what these shows have become. In one scene Ben has a shoot-out with another killer; Ben wins and stands victorious over the dead killer's body. At that moment another TV crew turn up- - it seems they where following the dead serial killer themselves. This moment was used to illustrate the copycat nature of the television industry.

As the film progresses we and the film crew recording Ben are drawn deeper into his murderous world. Starting as spectators we then almost become accomplices. The film crew help Ben out when he needs it, spotting his victims for him and the such, it raises questions of guilt and responsibility that most films dare not examine. Can we justify watching this (and Ben's actions) and feel an affinity with him, or are we repulsed at his actions and relieved at the end with his death?

Ben is set up as a charismatic character, with his family and friends important to him, but his victims not. His musings about pigeons and poetry are gripping, if not slightly unnerving when you contrast them to the murderous deeds he then commits.

The plot is as basic as it can be, with character build up and dialogue at the forefront rather than a complicated story. Ben kills, muses on his killings then muses some more. There is a sort of sub plot when Ben kills another serial killer and annoys some gangsters, these gangsters in the end are the ones who kill Ben and the film crew and bring the film to its bloody conclusion.

Perhaps the only problem with Man Bites Dog is its length. After a while you do become desensitized to the violence, and Ben's incessant ramblings do become slightly tedious after a while. In spite of all this I would recommend people seek this film out, it's good, hard entertainment with a message.

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