''In China They Eat Dogs'' () is a 1999 Danish

action comedy The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the America ...

film directed by

Lasse Spang Olsen Lasse Spang Olsen (born 23 April 1965) is a Danish filmmaker. He is the son of illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the c ...

, and starring

Kim Bodnia Kim Bodnia (born 12 April 1965) is a Danish actor. He became widely known for his role as police detective Martin Rohde in the Scandinavian crime drama series '' The Bridge''. He's also known internationally for his lead role as drug dealer Frank ...

, and

Dejan Čukić Dejan Čukić ( sr-Cyrl, Дејан Чукић; born 25 November 1966) is a Serbian- Danish actor. He appeared in the Wallander Wallander may refer to: TV, film, books * Kurt Wallander, a fictional Swedish police inspector in novels by Henning ...

Plot

Arvid (

), a bank teller, is constantly harassed by people he meets and looked down on by his girlfriend Hanna for being too boring and dull. Hoping to put some excitement in his life, Arvid helps stop a robbery at the bank. However, Hanna doesn't believe he was involved and dumps him, taking the majority of their shared possessions with her. At the same time, Astrid, the wife of the would-be bank robber, Franz, tracks Arvid down and tells him her husband was robbing the bank only so he could pay for medical treatments so they could have a child. Feeling guilty, Arvid gets in touch with his brother Harald (

), whom he hasn't seen in years after their father disowned him for his criminal ties, about robbing a van carrying money to the bank. The heist is successful and Arvid delivers the money to Astrid, but is sickened by the overly violent manner in which Harald and his associates execute it. Things further fall apart, after breaking Franz out of jail, a physical altercation breaks out, resulting in the death of their driver Vug. Franz tells the brothers that Astrid is actually his sister, and has been avoiding her ever since she conned him out of some money. Harald kills him over this, but they discover that Astrid has fled to South Aftica to escape their wrath. Arvid attempts to distance himself from Harald to avoid further violence, but is accosted by Hanna at his apartment attempting to claim ownership of the rest of his things. Finally reaching his breaking point, Arvid kills Hanna and meets up with Harald so they can chase Astrid down. Needing money to get to South Africa, the brothers attempt to rob the bank Arvid works at, but are attacked by Onkel, the head of a local Serbian cartel, in retaliation for the death of his nephew Vug. They manage to kill him and his men, but Arvid is killed in the process. As Harald and their associates grieve, Arvid's spirit is greeted in limbo by an angel named Richard, who had been relaying Arvid's misadventures to a demonic bartender. Arvid is surprisingly allowed into Heaven, while the other victims of the shootout are sent to Hell: a barfly named Jørgen (the result of Jørgen attempting to hustle Richard and the bartender out of money at poker), Arvid's closeted co-worker Finn (simply for being gay), and his 'girlfriend' Olga (the result of a clerical error on Richard's part).

Prequel

In 2002 a prequel titled '' Old Men in New Cars'' was released. It was again directed by

, and had

reprising his role as Harald.

References

External links

* 1999 films 1999 action comedy films 1999 crime comedy films 1990s Danish-language films Danish action comedy films Danish crime comedy films Serbian-language films Films about the Serbian Mafia Films with screenplays by Anders Thomas Jensen {{1990s-Denmark-film-stub