Luc Besson’s ‘Dogman’ Wows Buyers at EFM

Luc Besson hasn’t released a film since 2019’s underrated “Anna.” He’s been mired by #MeToo allegations since then but is about to attempt a comeback this year with ”Dogman.”

According to Variety, the peculiarly titled film, starring the always-excellent Caleb Landry Jones, is said to have “wowed buyers” at Berlin’s European Film Market, where it was screened for a select few.

Gregoire Melin, founder of Kinology, who is handling sales on the film, had this to say about the overwhelmed reactions the film has been getting:

“We hosted only one private screening of the completed film and buyers were stunned, they all came out saying that it was Luc Besson’s best film to date, his most mature movie and some even called it a masterpiece,”

Landry Jones stars as Douglas, a man who was abused as a child by his violent father and viciously thrown to dogs. Instead of attacking him, the dogs came to protect him and became his allies. On a journey to heal from childhood trauma and physical injury, Douglas seeks to find his own path, even if it means bending societal rules, gender and going overboard with his love of dogs. The trailer, which was teased at the Paris event, show Landry Jones impressively transforming into a woman, and embracing the part, emotionally and physically.

“Dogman” is said to be reminiscent of Besson’s darker, earlier films, notably “Leon: The Professional,” “The Big Blue,” “La Femme Nikita” and “Subway.”

I would imagine Besson will attempt to sneak this one inside this coming May’s Cannes Film Festival lineup. I don’t think it would crack competition, but it could surely become one of the hottest out-of-competition titles of the selection.