Mondo Cane



Mondo cane (A Dog's World, 1962) is a documentary written and directed by Italian filmmakers Paolo Cavara, Franco Prosperi and Gualtiero Jacopetti. The film consists of a series of travelogue vignettes that provide glimpses into cultural practices around the world with the intention to shock or surprise Western film audiences. These scenes are presented with little continuity, as they are intended as a kaleidoscopic display of shocking content rather than presenting a structured argument. Despite its claims of genuine documentation, certain scenes in the film are either staged or creatively manipulated to enhance this effect.

Mondo cane was an international box-office success and inspired the production of numerous, similar exploitation documentaries, many of which also include the word "Mondo" in their title. These films collectively came to be recognized as a distinct genre known as mondo films. In addition, the film's success led Jacopetti and Prosperi to produce several additional documentaries, including Mondo cane 2, Africa addio, and Addio zio Tom, while Cavara directed La donna nel mondo, Malamondo, as well as the anti-Mondo drama Wild Eye (Occhio selvaggio). Despite general critical condemnation of exploitation cinema, Mondo cane won the 1962 David di Donatello for best production and was also nominated for numerous other awards.

Synopsis
At the beginning, there is a scene with a dog pound. At the dog pound, a dog is presumably killed by other dogs through the camera's point of view. At  Castellaneta, Italy, there is a statue dedicated to  Rudolph Valentino. In the US,  Rossano Brazzi has his shirt torn off by his fans. In New Guinea, there is manhunting. Back at the US, bikini-clad girls woo sailors. Back at New Guinea, pigs are slaughtered for a long-waited feast. In  Pasadena, California, pet owners mourn their beloved at a pet cemetery. Meanwhile, at  Taipei, Taiwan, dogs are butchered and skinned alive for  their meat. In Italy, chicks are painted for Easter. In France, geese are force-fed for  foie gras. In  Sydney, Australia there are the Life Savers Girls. Nuclear contamination takes its toll of animals on  Bikini Atoll. Fishermen at the Malaysian village of Raiputh get even with  sharks by shoving  sea urchins down their throats. On the island of Tiberia, Italy, men in red robes guard the bones of their ancestors. On the  Reeperbahn Strasse of  Hamburg, Germans drink excessively and act incredibly stupid. Tokyo<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;"> has a massage parlor for men who were drunk. In  Macao<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;">, the dead are covered in make-up for the funeral. In  Singapore<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;"> there is a hotel for the dying. Cars are smashed at a junkyard of  Los Angeles<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;"> and reduced to cubes. In Czechoslovakia,  Yves Klein<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;"> makes his paintings with the help of some female models and some musicians to express his favorite color, blue. In  Honolulu<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;">, tourists are showered with  leis<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;"> and witness the  Hula Dance<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;">. In Nepal,  Gurkha<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;"> soldiers perform a rite of passage by dressing up in women's clothing and bulls are beheaded for ritualistic purposes. In Portugal, there is the running of the bulls and bull fights where matadors challenge the bulls. At Garoka, New Guinea, there are indigenous tribes who go to church. The film concludes with a  cargo cult<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;"> at  Port Moresby, New Guinea<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;">.

Production
<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;">In the beginning, as Cavara (who took the helm for European and Euro-Asiatic zone) and his supervisor Stanis Nievo' interviews revealed,  Mondo Cane<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;"> was a unique project conceived with  La donna nel Mondo<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;">, and worked at the same time (1960-62).