"This is a somber movie for a Friday night." Said a guest who screened "Heart of a Dog" with me. Avant-garde violinist/artist Laurie Anderson has created a tone poem with this film – a meditation on death and life. Moments are mesmerizing/hypnotizing, and yet others drag a bit. Whereas the film opens with some vibrant ink-wash animation by Laurie herself, the animation is all used up after the first 5 minutes. Employing the animation at intervals periodically would have worked well to accent and stave the lag and give more momentum to the small portion of "overly slow" moments.

That said, for the most part, the film engages with crisp and philosophical reflections on connections, refreshingly cleansed of judgement. For example: "Dogs see in blues and greens" – then the visual cuts to a security camera's greenish monitor. But there are other moments that feel just a tad too self-absorbed, or shots that hold indulgently long.

I appreciate this work. It's not morbid, it's not wallowing. Rather, it's always attempting to remain a safe distance from the grief – almost Spock-like as in "Interesting, Captain, how humans and dogs die and then they're just gone. A whole being completely gone, yet the Earth still turns." (That's not a quote from the movie, btw.)

Laurie offers her personal reflections on some important deaths in her life, most notably, the title character, her dog Lolabelle. She attempts to "feel sad, without being sad" as advised by a Tibetan Monk. It's not a perfect film, but it does have a certain beauty and a lot of heart to it. Additionally, Laurie scores the piece. If you're tired of all the loud blaring action films and want something heady and artistic -- give this one a go.

-- Books by Ross Anthony, Author/Illustrator --