'Heart Of A Dog' A Review

Heart Of A Dog is an experimental documentary by artist Laurie Anderson. The film centers on Anderson's late dog Lolabelle with spoken word meditations starting with the death of her pet branching out into Anderson's own childhood, 9/11 and the surveillance state, the Tibetan view of the after life, and various abstract montages.

The manipulated archive footage, stills, animation, and reenactments pair eerily with Anderson's breathy narration creating a contemplative, ethereal, and surprisingly funny tone. The film is more like a dream than anything resembling a narrative, gliding from topic to topic with long abstract transitions.

Visually the film is rich and saturated, more focused on the colors and images as a whole than what is in them be it people, animals, or structures. Much of the film is only partially in focus enhancing its dreamlike quality. The music pairs beautifully with the images and the narration producing something that is possibly better defined as a multi-media art piece rather than a movie.

Emotional, cryptic, and thought-provoking if a bit devoid of structure to its periodic disadvantage.

See It.