Dog Days

What would we do without Independent Film screenings? Frankly, I don't want to find out. Without them I would never have had the fortune to view "Dog Days", the first live action short (25 minutes long) by director Ellie Lee.

I saw "Dogs Days" last night in a screening that also included Ms. Lee's first animated short "Repetition Compulsion". I was incredibly moved by both.

"Dogs Days" is the story of an America not far removed from our own, but yet engaged in a horrible war with an unknown enemy. Communications with the outside world have been completely cut off and the people, subjected to food and water rationing, are only told what the government wants them to know.

The film focuses on one young girl (Sonya Genel) and how she and her family deal with the crisis around them. Her father (Will Lyman) is a very proud man who insists on supporting his family in any way he can. Each day he sets out hunting for food, knowing in advance that none will be found as one of consequences of the war has been death of all animals.

In the midst of all of this, a stranger dressed in a dog suit (Spencer Beglarian) shows up at the family's doorstep. He walks on all fours, he barks, he wimpers ... he is a dog in every sense of the word. Although the girl initially rejects the stranger's presence, seeing him as nothing more than a homeless guy pretending to be a dog, a strong bond soon develops between the two much to the apprehension of her father who fears for his daughter's safety.

Director/writer Ellie Lee, through the use of humor/fear/love/optimism and hopelessness explores the relationship between these three characters and paints a true-to-life portrait of just how similar mankind really is to the animals around us.

As I said at the start of this review, I don't know what I would do without Independent Film screenings. I was fortunate enough to see all of Ellie Lee's work to date and I only can hope that everyone else has the opportunity to do so as well.

So scour your local newspaper for Independent screenings and hope Ellie Lee's name appears among the offerings. If it does, you are will be in for a treat that you won't soon forget. In the meantime, I'll be keeping an eye out for other projects that this muti-talented artist might be involved in.

Strange and haunting are just two of the adjectives that describe this look at relationships. It's like an updated, outré Twilight Zone episode. The country is at war; the neighbors are disappearing and a man who believes he's a dog shows up at a family's house. At first, Lisa, the daughter, is disturbed by him, but comes to accept him and names him Prince. He eats scraps of food and even chases sticks for her. Her father, on the other hand, feels threatened by the dog. His nominal reason is fear for his daughter's safety, but at some level, his feelings about his manhood are challenged. Tensions rise, and the end is very disturbing. A must-see for those who enjoy intelligent film-making.

I enjoyed this film for a number of reasons. Its use of black and white lent an ominous, dark tone to the piece, very appropriate for a post-apocalyptic time. I also liked the irony of how, at first, the mother and daughter consider the man a dog and the husband charges that he's a man, and then, at the end, mother and daughter desperately proclaim he is a man while the husband insists he's a dog.

Could the man-dog represent the irrationality and absurdity that humanity has sunk to as a result of a nuclear war? This idea is reinforced by the fact that his existence as we see him is never explained--then again, that could be part of the idea--no explanations, therefore irrationality. Even if he does represent this notion, I think that there is still a ray of hope that the movie is trying to show--though absurd, the man-dog is not threatening, and is pleasant to be around. Ironically, the "human" husband is the one who is unpleasant and barbaric.

Finally, the fact that we still pity the man-dog at the end says very much. The film ultimately ends with the implied death of the man-dog, whom the father and sons murder, symbolizing, perhaps, that humanity will never change, and that mindless hatred and competition will always dominate kindness, thought, and beauty.

This is by far, one of the most compelling Sci-fi films I have seen in a long time. Lee takes a potentially sticky situation (the guy in the dog suit) and directs her actors with grace and an uncompromising dedication to her story.

The plot, of the family sticking together in a post-apocalyptic world is potentially a tired one, but Lee takes it to a new level by adding the dog character.

This film, Lee's debut in live action, has the rhythm of a veteran director and I cannot wait to see what she does next.

This film is concerned with a bleak, black and white view of a post apocalyptic time when there is food and water rationing and no one seems to have anything to do. A man shows up in a dog suit and the mother feeds him scraps from the trash. This short film was depressing in the extreme and I'll never understand the attraction filmmakers have for this sort of thing. Since so many filmmakers seem drawn to this topic it's no wonder that there's very little new ground to cover. Don't worry, this film doesn't cover any.