Dobermann

Plot synopsis:
The charismatic criminal Dobermann (Vincent Cassel), who got his first gun when he was christened, leads a gang of brutal robbers with his beautiful, deaf girlfriend Nat the Gypsy (Monica Bellucci). After a complex and brutal bank robbery, they are being hunted by the Paris police. The hunt is led by the sadistic cop Christini (Tchéky Karyo), who only has one goal: to catch Dobermann at any cost. He manages to catch gang member Olivier, who is also a tranvestite named Sonia. Christini threatens to kill Olivier's baby if he does not help him to catch the gang. Olivier has no choice and visits a party in a disco where the other gang members celebrate their robbery. He informs Christini with an alarm transmitter that all gang members are here so the police start a raid. After a gun fight the police arrest several members of the gang but some manage to escape, including Dobermann, who flees into a hidden basement which also has monitoring screens to show what happens in the disco. As Christini kills Pitbull and abducts Nat with a car to rape her, Dobermann leaves his hiding place and follows him in a stolen ambulance. He overtakes Christini and manages to wrestle him down in the car. Dobermann grinds the head of Christini on the road while still driving the car at high speed as revenge for the killed friends. Christini is left heavily disfigured on the road, presumably dying. The surviving gang members are able to escape and bury Sonia (the personage), suggesting that her treason results in Olivier having to drop his transvestite role. As they leave the scene in their cabrio a police helicopter is shown following them, with their car in its sights.

Tags: cult, violence

Review:
If you like your heroes dirty, your characters about 3 times larger than life, your camera restless, your dialogue cynical and vicious and your violence explosive...
Starting off with a slow scene at the baptism of Dobermann, whos real name is Yann, it then takes you on a action-trip to hell - and never back!The first 30 minutes of the film have super-cool editing, but then the story gets overhand (which is good) and the shooting starts to slow down...
Maybe KILLING ZOE may compare in violence, but not in acting...The scene when Yann and his girlfriend is talking with sign-language only is one of the best scenes in this movie - even though it has no action, no words and only a humming noice...
It's a hard movie to watch for some people, but it has great qualities, very nice filming and spectacular direction and editing!
DOBERMANN Aspect ratio: 2.39:1Sound formats: Dolby Digital / DTSA psychotic police detective (Tchéky Karyo) pursues a gang of armed robbers led by the ultra-charismatic 'Dobermann' (Vincent Cassel).A colossal one-fingered salute to the bland, homogenised pap dominating international cinema at the time of its release, DOBERMANN not only set debut director Jan Kounen on the road to cinematic glory, it also helped kickstart an aggressive upsurge in ultra-commercial European cinema (the "Taxi" series, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, CRIMSON RIVERS, THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, etc.), begun two years earlier by Mathieu Kassovitz's equally subversive LA HAINE (1995).
Fans of political correctness need not apply: DOBERMANN is loud, excessive, obnoxious and morally ambiguous in equal measure, and while some viewers may be unable to reconcile themselves to the action and violence of Kounen's raucous worldview, others should cling onto their seats and prepare for the ride of a lifetime...As the above plot synopsis attests, Kounen and scriptwriter Joël Houssin (upon whose pulp novels the film is based) have stripped the plot down to its barest essentials and constructed a series of instantly recognisable character-types (saint, sinner, braggart, dimwit, etc.), thereby liberating Kounen to indulge his true objectives: To push the boundaries of cinema to their absolute limits.
DOBERMANN is a swirling tornado of audiovisual delights which unfolds via shock cuts, hurtling camera-work, loud explosions and in-yer-face action set-pieces, a heady mixture of Hollywood gloss and Hong Kong stuntwork ramped to the max.
The cast is toplined by French superstars Cassel and Monica Bellucci (they married in 1999), playing the antihero and his ultra-loyal partner in crime, and they both manage to carve a niche amidst the film's visual excesses, while Dobermann's misfit gang includes Stéphane Metzger (TRANSFIXED) as a beautiful drag queen who supports his loving, unsuspecting wife and family via prostitution.
But the movie is stolen clean away by Karyo as the deranged cop on Dobermann's tail, an irredeemable psycho who's prepared to break every rule - legal and moral - to bring his nemesis to book.
However, the audience's loyalties are tested when one of Dobermann's gang (the 'good' guys) shoots an inexperienced rookie cop for no other reason than he happens to be within range during a bank robbery, an incident which pegs the characters as dispensable lowlife scum.
Though the scene is cruel and uncompromising, Kounen isn't interested in queer-bashing a sympathetic character, merely demonstrating the moral corruption of Karyo's villainous detective; the drag queen is written and played with quiet dignity, and Metzger's 'fate' for betraying Dobermann under duress is both amusing and redemptive...Houssin's scenario builds to a frenzied showdown in a fancy nightclub, where Dobermann's gang defend themselves against an army of gun-toting police officers, and Karyo finally confronts his mortal enemy, culminating in an explosion of horrific violence.
Its really worth to watch, cause there's not a lot good criminal/action movies like these.
People have compared Dobermann to Tarantino's stuff, but I think it's much more similar to Luc Besson's Leon / crossed with Baz Luhrmann's direction in the opening of Romeo & Juliet.Great comic-book angles and poses, larger-than-life characters, comic-book violence, Prodigy soundtrack..
What do people expect: this movie is for a hard-boiled audience, and others can check out Disney if they want likeable characters and happy endings.
If, on the other hand, you like a movie with balls and  one that is not afraid to show sex and violence in the extreme with wonderfully weird characters and a director who knows his business, then you should see this and be amazed, from the opening scene until the final credits.
They wanted to do a different action movie and they got it, but being different does not mean being good in fact when someone tries so badly to do different things, as anyone can notice in this film, the results are poor.
A good movie, or a cult one, is not based in the appearances, it must have some substance and Dobermann does not have anything beyond the never ending gun fights, the shallow characters and dull dialogues.But watching that movie is not a total waste of time, you can learn what not must be done in movies and Dobermann has many examples about that..
A critic have to be objective and it's stupid to destroy a movie like this one when we hate the violent/action style...
The movie looks like the project from film-school( in a good way) of a very talented student.
The director uses pretty much every trick in the book, including CGI in the Dobermann sequence at the beginning of the movie and over-all seems not to be sure what technique to stick with.
The movie is a loud(soundtrack includes The Prodigy), action-pumped and colorful account of a heist organized by bad-ass Dobermann(Vincent Cassel) and his girl Nat the gypsy(Monica Bellucci) with their gang, and the events that follow, when psychotic inspector Sauveur Cristini (Tchéky Karyo) picks up the chase.
extreme violence doesn't make a good movie, which in my opinion a lot of people think.
It is rare, maybe it will never happen again, but someone has actually made a film worse than Pamela Anderson's Barb Wire.Dobermann mixes the non-stop action of The Matrix with the camera gimmickry of The Matrix, and throws in some gratuitous sex for good measure.
But they just look childlishly ridiculous - we were laughing with incredulity that any film company could release such poor film-making.If you like lots of guns and violence then fair enough; and at least seeing this movie will make you laugh.
Dobermann is the sort of hyperviolent, uber-stylized film that is incredibly entertaining while being utterly frightening (to those with weak stomachs) at the same time.The lead cop exemplifies this - he is an avenging angel - a pure creature of violence who rampages through the movie, leaving more destruction in his wake than the title character.
there's no way they could hope to keep up.The action is used in short controlled bursts [a small opening piece, a robbery in the middle and the obligatory climatic violent orgasm] and is perhaps most notable for its slick camera work and high degree of violence [not splatterfilm level, but definitely competitive with John Woo].
He will stop at nothing to get his man including giving a grenade to a baby.6 out of 10, great action and style takes the place of plot and character development..
That, and bloody mayhem!The set-pieces, (a bank-robbery, a shoot-em-up in a nightclub and the final car-chase) are excellent for those who like their action-movies splattered with gore and a loud techno-track.
Things do pick up in the second half, and by the time we get to the final confrontation between Dobermann and the Nazi cop Christini (arguably the most repugnant cop in the history of movies) the violence finally has the kick that it should have had all along.
The characters would be cool if they tried to stick to one-liners and let their guns talk more often, instead of hogging up movie time with blah-blah and multiple shots of one action.
It waves our flesh, play with the dark and disgusting human nature; but its our own rejected nature with all its perversity, temptations that is shown here; that's why we like it: its us.On a technical note the cast is perfect; Cassel is really great, as much as can be Jean Reno (the Boss) in his own movies..
Yes we must admit that fact , this kind of movie in which the bads guys 'win' in rare .But in 'Dobermann' there is NO good guys , it's a pure dogfight without rules !!!
To tell you , the gangsters' (the dobermann and his funny friends) violence looks like kids games compares to the lead cop inhumanity (Christini).
He's not like others bad guys you can see in movies , he isn't afraid by the dobermann and his gang , he has no remorse and no heart .
Tcheky Karyo's acting performance in 'Dobermann' helps for a great part of the psychologic impact given by the movie .
From the CGI Doberman relieving himself on the main credits all the way to the violent ending, this movie held my interest in an almost hypnotic fashion.The Dobermann is a bank robber in Paris who employs a variety of high tech weapons and hopped-up lackeys to help him.
In addition, we can see two great French performers: Vincent Cassel and Romain Duris who have made a lot of good films and often with good directors.
Based on a comic book, Jan Kounen's "Dobermann" is a French crime film that never shies away from taking things to the extreme.
To give you an idea of the colorful palette of characters that awaits you, you also get the Dobermann's girlfriend, a mute, sadistic nympho; Pitbull and Moustique, two hardened criminals whose temper is quickly exposed when they play a tennis game; a priest who carries a Bible in which he hides grenades; Cristini's sidekick cop, who's just a huge fan of his boss; Sonia, a drag queen...and the list goes on.
Filled with dark humour almost from start to finish, Dobermann packs hilarious dialogue, cool aesthetics, costumes, and overall cinematography, plenty of violence which, despite never being particularly graphic, sometimes comprises very disturbing situations - again, I am not giving anything away.
And that's exactly what Dobermann is: excessive in its visuals, from the lighting to the characters' gun designs; excessive in its violence, from the characters' nature to some of the very inventive killings it puts on display; excessive in its soundtrack, with plenty of techno music playing out loud; and excessive in its direction and editing, from an amazing split-screen sequence to camera movements and shots delivering images that appear to be taken out of a comic book strip.
I hate french movies, especially I started to hate them more when I watched "Dobermann".
So, I already know if somebody likes "Dobermann" it means that this man nothing understand in movies..
In 1999, ultra-violence was the opportunity for Jan Kounen, a mediocre French director, to create some hype around his first full-length movie.Dobermann (young Vincent Cassel) is a gangster with his team of crazy violent sidekicks.
Dobermann himself is supposed to be impressive, but he has no impact on script, close to being transparent.Jan Kounen might have wanted to create a kind of pamphlet about police and how cops can sometimes act worse than criminals...
I love this film!The cinematography is fantastic, the writing is sharp and witty, the actors are perfectly cast - Tcheky Karyo especially.Many have placed Dobermann in the same category as Pulp Fiction but I don't think the comparison is fair.
This movie, by the French director Jan Kounen, is not really something most people will enjoy.
I guess the thing about Kounen is he should stop writing his own movies and concentrate on filming other people's work.
Like this one where a cop is eating his sandwich while watching a pimp beating a hooker...Don't be fooled by people who say that this movie is a copycat of 'Natural Born Killer'.
Yet it also epitomises everything that's great about action movies, and more.None of the characters are particularly sympathetic, ranging from the anarchic protagonist to the sadistic maverick cop.
Yet the narrative doesn't really matter, this is an action movie after all; the camera work is truly breathtaking and a great lesson for all aspiring film makers.
Even playing with violence and other bad things French movie-makers show class.
Cult is a word that's being thrown around these days rather hastily for violent movies like this, the same goes for silly Tarantino comparison's, when such films are not even close...
Perhaps it's my love for French film...The biggest problem with this movie is the characters.
A Great, Amoral and Extremely Violent Cult Movie, With Bizarre Characters.
The cast don't help are all unlikeable cartoon characters with no good performances or dialogue.Overall I found this to be a deeply unpleasant film that goes for the hyper cartoon violence approach.
The pleasure is in the gratuitous shoot 'em ups and in this respect Kounen stages the grossness quite impressively.Comparisons with Tarantino will inevitably been drawn, but if anything Dobermann is more like British TV cop shows The Sweeney and The Professionals (the split screen robbery scene being a direct rip-off) of the 70s.
I found this film 97 percent very good - it's running with an excellent-made action, ultra-violence, beating music and a reiterative plot (therefore the 3 other percent).
Of course, I don't criticize the film too much about that, though i prefer the point-making-movies.This film is for those who like action films with a lot of violence and a tepid plot, that it's only pure purpose is to the bring the viewer a 90 minutes of mid pleasure - which it does!.
Just like the movies it is often compared to (Natural Born Killers, Pulp Fiction, The Matrix) its stylistic tone and visuals aren't terribly original, but they DO work.From its violent beginning and crazy CGI dog-headed gangster credits sequence, this is a film that is all about visuals and pace.
Mix that in with some ultra-violence and cinematography that is lifted, in a good way, from the directors commercial background and you have an excellent modern action movie with a brain.Hopefully Blueberry, the director's (Jan Kounen) next movie (with the likes of Vincent Cassel, Micheal Masden, and Juliette Lewis) will live up to the standard he set here.Visuals - 8/10 Plot - 6/10 Performance - 7/10Overall - 7/10 - well worth a watch.
He comes out of the same French creative puddle as Mathieu Kassovitz.Vincent Cassel, Tcheky Karyo and Monica Bellucci are just terrific and the other characters in the movie are playing their part very convincing in this comic pool of ultra violence.
The screenplay it's just OK as a merely excuse to bring it on celluloid, and that's why the story is NOT meant to be the main thing here, it´s just the mean "good" people versus the charismatic criminal -although I got to enjoy it as well-; and being a french movie, we should know prior to watch it by this simple fact that the looks and the whole aesthetics it´s what gonna get the main focus.
All of the cast members that play Dobermann's gang are equally good.If you like action movies, then you'll love the action scenes in this.
He did a Masterpiece with lots of violence and drugs.The music is perfectly chosen, join Dobermann and his gang of bank-robbers in their search for action..
Dobermann is a quite cool French action flick.
The characters are a bit one-dimensional but that flaw isn`t very important.What makes this movie cool is the neatly directed action scenes.
Some scenes in this movie seem a bit sloppy.Dobermann is minimum character development, and consists mostly of good and bad guys shooting at each other.
Filmed in the style of a slick MTV promo with lashings of dark humour and ultra violence,Dobermann launches a relentless barrage on the senses right from the word go and manages to keep up its frantic pace and hold your attention right to the very end.Loved all the characters,each more crazy than the next but in my books Tcheky stole the show ,his performance as the viscious,psychotic bent copper Christini was truely menacing and a real joy to watch.Only gripe was that the script seemed a little weak  but perhaps i missed a lot not being a speaker of French.Ce'st la ve.This movie is by no means deep and meaningful but i loved it for what it was ,a lovely slice of mindless mayhem.Enjoy it..
It's the only way to fully enjoy Dobermann.The cast is absolutely great: Karyo camps one of the most evil bad guys you will ever have the chance to see on screen, Cassel is great, Bellucci is hot and all the secondary characters are really funny.The music and action sequences are really cool and the general mood is so edgy it makes you feel nausious.
I've seen the movie so many times I know it by heart.When asked about the extreme violence of his flick, director Jan Kounen said "With this film, I want to shock the Bourgeoise".
Great movie for those who like european films.
Americans should be more open to foreign films because they're missing a lot of good movies like this one..
The film is a dark actioner that provides highly stylized violence being done by unlikable people in the context of a simple story.
This film gives us an hour and a half of actions done by people who have very little in the way of a moral system.
For fans of extreme cinema, Dobermann is almost a must-a good blend of violence, style, and craziness with a thumping soundtrack and over-the-top acting and set-pieces.
A good cast does well, particularly Cassell and Karyo as the respective robber and cop, but at times the mashing together of genres does not work completely.Cassell stars as Dobermann, a man with a penchant for violence ever since his birth.
'Dobermann' is an over-the-top stylish action gangster film that for once doesn't come from Japan.