In China They Eat Dogs

This wry black Danish comedy from former stuntman Lasse Spang Olsen hinges on the fact that its sad sack lead character Arvid (Dejan Cukic), who believes in doing the right thing, even if it’s done the wrong way, and even when the results always punish him. He is as incredibly naive as he is unlucky, and that his criminal brother Harald (Kim Bodnia, looking like a Danish Tom Sizemore) will go to incredible lengths to prove that, despite being total opposites, they’re both of the same blood. Tragically, he turns out to be more right than he could have known. This facet of character interaction between the brothers gives the film a dramatic anchor to ground it’s twisting plot (which is related by an American visitor in a bar), and makes its frequent belly laughs (much of which come at the expense of relative innocents) all the funnier. While many of the crime comedies that popped up in the wake of Pulp Fiction skate along on atmosphere and characters, this one’s cynical viewpoint, that no good deed goes unpunished, sets it apart from the pack.