Deborah Ross

Man bites man

Plus there a lots of lovely dogs, which always helps, and none of them are harmed – except a chihuahua

issue 20 October 2018

Matteo Garrone’s Dogman, which is Italy’s entry for the foreign language Oscar next year, is bleak, unflinching, oppressive, masculine (very), violent (shockingly) and basically everything you’d expect me to hate. Except I didn’t. It is out of the ordinary. It has a magical central performance. It is tense, as you wait for the little man to face down the big man, if he does.

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