YMMV / Mondo Cane

• Awesome Music: The soundtrack by Riz Ortolani is one of the most beautiful scores in a mondo film, if not film in general. Special mention goes to the Breakaway Pop Hit "Ti Guarderò Nel Cuore", released internationally as "More".
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • The opening shot of a terrified dog being forced inside a pound at the mercy of angry barking dogs. Before we know of its fate, it fades to black at the sound of the poor dog's whimpering.
  • A running of the bulls in Portugal features at least several men at risk of being gored by said bulls with their bodies being thrown around like rag dolls. Even more distressing is this is one of the vignettes featuring actual footage.
• Once Original, Now Common: The film in the 2020's is rather tame in terms of content, in comparison with films that followed it such as Faces of Death.
• Squick: It's one of those films that is definitely not for the weak of stomach. It's a "shockumentary" so it's bound to happen more or less.
• Tear Jerker:
  • The most poignant use of the film's musical motif is the shot of eggs migratory birds still choose to sit on whilst the narrator explains that most of them have become sterile due to nuclear contamination of Bikini Atoll. Next, a sea turtle lays its eggs in the sand, only for it to drag itself further into the island, fated to die from exposure as the camera pans out to other sea turtles remains in the sand. This segment eventually leads to the more heavy topics of the film, that is, death.
  • Shots of the elderly and mortally ill during the infamous Sago Lane death houses segment. Of note is a young girl with a single tear streaming across her cheek, looking into space as if barely aware of her surroundings or seemingly waiting to die.
• Values Dissonance:
  • Any of the peoples that are featured whom are not from the Occident are given very unflattering narrations that are either meant to be sarcastic or genuinely condescending.
  • Its nonchalant prejudice towards non-Western cultures that toes the line of ethnocentrism definitely makes this a product of its time. And the less said about the animal cruelty, the better.
  • The documentary's premise actually milks the dissonances of two contrasting cultures for all its worth. For example, dogs in one culture are a beloved member of the family to the point they have their own exclusive cemetery for animals, but somewhere in a foreign land, they are raised to be slaughtered for food. Many more ironic juxtapositions ensue.

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