Heart of a Dog (2015)

Simply A Masterpiece

As Good As It Gets

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Straight into my soul, her voice, the imagery and the sheer poetry of the strength of love and loss and coming into being.... and leaving.

Tremendously moving and beautiful, and the best capturing of Laurie Anderson's unique combination of off-beat humor, heartbreak, poetry music, images, animation, stories, Buddhist philosophy and artistic experimentation yet on film. In theory it's the story of Anderson's relationship with Lolabelle, her beloved terrier, as the dog moves through life towards aging and death. But it is also clearly thematically about her love for, and loss of her husband Lou Reed, and her pondering of her own mortality and the meaning of life. Yet as dour and daunting as that sounds, Anderson never loses sight of the joy that abides with sorrow, knowing that there is no love without pain, and no pain without the seeds of joy. And while it's a heady mix, and resolutely refuses to act anything like a 'normal' movie, Anderson is also the most accessible of experimentalists. She has no interest in torturing or confounding her audience, just catching them off guard and getting them to think new ways - - but always with a smile, a wink and a chuckle at it all. She's a tremendously important artist, and this film is great for fans and newcomers alike.

I dvr'd this based on HBO's description, "Laurie Anderson reflects on the passing of her mother, her husband (Lou Reed) and her dog" What I saw was one minute of reflection about her mother in the beginning and one minute at the end. There was absolutely ZERO reflection about Lou unless you want to count the one grainy picture of him during the movie, or the picture of him and the song of his during the end credits. The dog was well represented and saw significant screen time in the film and was obviously more loved than the mother or husband.Ms Anderson even stated that she did not love her mother during the film.I was very interested to hear her feelings on her husbands passing and got absolutely nothing. She really should have just made the movie entirely about the dog.

Now Laurie Anderson isn't really a musician, she is an artist using all kinds of modern media and her concerts are more impressive than her audio CDs. I wasn't really sure what to expect of this film and fortunately it isn't as artsy as many of the works of video artists often are are, where - as usually in modern art - you have to make sense of the material yourself, somehow; no, this is a very watchable film with Laurie spreading out memories and thoughts about her rat terrier Archie and her mother, both of which have passed away rather recently. Also of course, her husband, the rock musician Lou Reed, had died only 2 years ago so the topic of death seems a very natural one in those circumstances. Still, this is not a sad or bitter film but at best maybe a melancholic but often also a happy one with an emphasis on cheerful memories. It is a meditation on life and death spoken in her very soft singsong voice.