He runs a pet grooming business in a dilapidated seaside resort and shares his life with his dogs, a daughter from a previous relationship and the town bully, Simoncino, played with blunt force by Edoardo Pesce. Simone is very much a loose cannon and he draws Marcello into a series of illegal activities.

Circling around Simone like a moth to flame, their relationship is an odd one and is never fully explained. Being forced to engage in a robbery of an adjoining business, it leads to Marcello getting caught, put in jail and becoming ostracised from the fellow business owners.

Dogman is not an easy watch and its presentation of life without hope gives the audience no easy escape. It forces you to see past the cliche and imagine a life devoid of optimism. In this non-elevated state you will see humanity at its rawest.

Rob Hudson
www.palacefilms.com.au

In a dilapidated Neapolitan suburb, the pint-sized, mild-mannered Marcello (Marcello Fonte) runs the dog-grooming business of the film’s title, caring for the neighbourhood pooches, and raising his young daughter, Alida, for whom he’d do anything to spoil. But he’s domineered by one of his customers, Simone (Edoardo Pesce), a petty criminal and former boxer who throws his substantial bulk around this tight-knit community at every opportunity. Marcello soon becomes swept up in a criminal plan he wants nothing to do with…

Meticulously directed and photographed, and entirely sympathetic to its four-legged cast-members (none of who are harmed), Garrone’s bravura urban noir is also impeccably acted, with Marcello Fonte’s extraordinary performance highly deserving of the Best Actor prizes at both Cannes and the European Film Awards. Inspired by a true story that drew national headlines, and gripping from start to finish, it’s another electrifying big-screen experience from one of Italy’s finest contemporary filmmakers.

Dogman will be released in Australian cinemas August 29!
www.palacefilms.com.au