Mondo Cane

IMDb Link

I remember my parents telling me about this film when I was a wee little boy and it seemed insane and scary and unreal.

About 30 years later, I've finally watched this film. It's insane, scary. And very much real. More or less.
Indeed, I wonder how much of it is actually real and how much has been staged. In the end, it doesn't really matter...

This is a film about men and their insanity, lust, quirks, cruelty and stupidity. It's about how we rule as Gods on Earth, destroying and exploiting the animal world with complete disrespect and selfishness.

This documentary-style film shows us the excentricities of humans. It starts with the 'uncivilized' tribes that kill pigs and eat them almost raw (yes, we see the pig genocide), but then it moves on to the so-called civilized world... places where manga-eyed puppies are eaten, chicks are coloured, geese are stuffed... we see it all. But where I got truly nauseous was seeing the people eating forkfuls of ants in a fancy restaurant.

This is a film about life and death, sex and food and booze. It is sometimes amusing, but also often disturbing. Nothing really links the different scenes, except humans doing human things, which is to say: stupid things.

By the end of the film, you can't help but feel a deep hatred for mankind. We are so pointless, cruel and stupid, it's not even funny.

At times, this movie can be very racist and sexist. But it's Italy in the 60s, what else do you expect? But to balance things out, Americans are also made fun of. It's always funny to see old Americans, trying to lose weight and being compared to trains. Or fat old Americans, all chewing gum, being taught to Hula dance in Hawaii.

So, it's an old film, but an influential one. Although it hasn't aged very well, because of its obvious racism, one thing still holds true: we're as dumb today as we were 50 years ago.

"Hey: I've got a great idea! Let's poison a shark with sea urchins!"
"No, no: let's stand in line in front of a pissed off bull instead!"
"Nah, forget about it... Let's just chill over a plate of freshly skinned snake, ok?"
"Yeah, ok. Meanwhile, I'll walk around, flagellating my legs with broken glass. As people do."