{"id":6902,"date":"2019-02-08T11:23:03","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T16:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=6902"},"modified":"2019-02-08T11:23:05","modified_gmt":"2019-02-08T16:23:05","slug":"review-the-saint-bernard-syndicate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=6902","title":{"rendered":"Review: THE SAINT BERNARD SYNDICATE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A business opportunity brings two unlikely partners to China, along with a prized Saint Bernard in this funny indie.<\/p>

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When Frederik (Frederik Cilius J\u00f8rgensen) runs into Rasmus (Rasmus Bruun) at an old school function, he immediately pitches his nerdy and introverted ex-schoolmate on a risky business idea. A failed entrepreneur, Frederik\u2019s track record has alienated him from his family and friends. But this new idea, at least theoretically, could work. Frederik wants to bring the joy of Saint Bernard ownership to the people of China, and he intends to raise the cash in order to construct a large-scale breeding facility there.\u2028<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The dog, Dollar, steals the show.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Funny and, at times, touching, director Mads Br\u00fcgger has some difficulty maintaining the saucy tone as Rasmus struggles with a potential life-ending illness. But the culture clash as the two men relocate with their trusty dog, Dollar, to China is good for some meaningful laughs. This dark comedy narrowly avoids a crash as Frederik and Rasmus descend into chaos and depravity.\u2028<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Frederik and Rasmus explore the seedy side of China.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Reminiscent in many ways of the 2004 Czech documentary \u201cCzech Dream,\u201d there are moments in \u201cThe Saint Bernard Syndicate\u201d when you get an almost mockumentary vibe. Shot by Jonas Berlin, the visual scope is instantly relatable to anyone familiar with reality television. This approach infuses the movie with a built in credibility, leaving you with the impression that you\u2019re watching real events as they transpire.\u2028<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The script, from L\u00e6rke Sanderhoff, capitalizes on the improvisational tone introduced by the visuals. And Sanderhoff never takes the safe route, skewering almost everything as the business partners blunder their way through a small fortune while wooing local investors. What is most telling is how utterly clueless Frederik and Rasmus are. When they think they have the upper hand, they realize that their smiling investors may actually be playing out a sophisticated financial game.\u2028<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A potential Chinese investor bonds with Dollar.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Saint Bernard Syndicate\u201d is certainly a success, made on a limited budget with a devoted cast and crew. And filmmaker Br\u00fcgger, whose next film is a controversial documentary, is one to watch as he fine-tunes a fusing of genres.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mads Br\u00fcgger’s satirical comedy has its moments and a great big lovable canine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[535,213,1250,796,1247,1251,1252,1249,1246,1248,412,1245],"class_list":["post-6902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-china","tag-comedy","tag-czech-dream","tag-dark-comedy","tag-frederik-cilius-jorgensen","tag-jonas-berlin","tag-laerke-sanderhoff","tag-mads-brugger","tag-mockumentary","tag-rasmus-bruun","tag-satire","tag-the-saint-bernard-syndicate","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6902"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6908,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6902\/revisions\/6908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}