Les Chiens

A doctor becomes increasingly disturbed by the number of bite wounds he is treating. The town is a vile new creation in which street crime is rampant, racism abounds, and the local bourgeoisie have taken to keeping Alsatians for pets. But as in Shock Treatment (shown here as Doctor in the Nude), Jessua is adept at intimating a large political conspiracy from his thriller elements. The finger here seems to point back to Depardieu, who is the local dog-trainer but who when pressed goes a little Fascist around the gills and starts spouting Nietzsche. Considerable ambiguity is lent to it all by the conversion of the doctor's liberal girlfriend from a rape victim into a dog-toting vigilante. There is also the spectre of France's colonial past in the shape of black gastarbeiter. A worthwhile, thoughtful film which deals with its large themes with surprising complexity. CPea.