Dogs in Space

To some this movie doesn't make a whole lot of sense but for others it opens a door to a different world. I saw this movie after picking up the soundtrack in the bargain bin at Sam Goodie and loving it.

No, it doesn't have a lot of plot but that isn't really important because there is something for everyone. Being a movie about a collection of people either living or visiting a single house allows for different archetypes that people will identify and/or connect with. Example: Sammy No-brain-the free spirited drug addled lead singer of the band, Tim-the good natured virgin hanging with the in-crowd, Lucio the well-meaning nerd on the fringe of the in-crowd, Chainsaw man who (I feel) represents the man in our lives who expresses his innermost feelings through machinery. This combined with the free manner in which the house is run in allows for the discovery of a new/different way of life not seen or considered by many. The ensemble cast allows for a sort of video "Magic 8 Ball" into life, seeing how things turn out for the different archetypes.

Perhaps best viewed for the first time by a teenage audience trying to fit into the world, this is none the less a good movie.

I had fond memories of this movie for years, but on a recent re-viewing I was put off by the obnoxiousness of many of the characters here. They all seem shallow and self-obsessed, but that is probably an accurate portrayal of this period in Melbourne music history, and my reaction most likely has a lot to do with getting older, and being less sympathetic to the follies of youth.

'Dogs In Space' documents a fairly obscure but important period of Australian music history - the "little bands" scene, when punk turned weirder, artier, and generally more electronic. No other music scene in the world was EXACTLY the same, but the New York 'No Wave' era is the closest equivalent. Out of this melee came cult heroes The Birthday Party, but also many other acts that were hardly recorded, if recorded at all. This movie attempts to redress that. Director Richard Lowenstein lived in the house that inspired this story and hung out with the real band that is fictionalized here.

While not perfect, this movie has a lot of energy, some great music on the soundtrack (Iggy, Boys Next Door, Eno, Gang Of Four, Marching Girls), and there's enough of interest going on to make it highly recommended to anyone curious about late 70s/early 80s music. The late Michael Hutchence (INXS) may have rough acting chops, but he exudes enough charisma to make you wonder what might have been movie-wise for him.

By the way, keep an eye open for an early appearance of Noah Taylor now seen in more mainstream Hollywood fare like Tomb Raider!

I lived in Melbourne in this time frame. In share houses and went to lots of parties. Very much catches the ambiance, feel, human desires and dilemmas of being a youth in this era. Unless you lived there and know it you can't really appreciate the truth of this life. So many perished from overdoses. Many went on to live happy lives. But if you have been to these times for me they were the most free and some of the happiest times of my life because no one judged you, people encouraged individuality and a freedom of mind. There was a loyalty. Qualities in humanity that are not around today. People are emotionless now and do not discern right from wrong. The world is too dangerous. This was a cherished time.

'Dogs in Space' pretty much seems to have disappeared over the years. My widescreen copy was taped off Channel 4 in the early 90's, and I'm pretty sure this was the last British terrestrial screening. Which is a real shame, because its a fantastic film. Written and directed by Richard Lowenstein, maker of the excellent 'Strikebound' and promos for INXS and U2, its an apparently semi-autobiographical piece about the various dwellers of, and visitors to, a rather decrepit squat in late 70's Melbourne.

For those who might be put off by Lowenstein's corporate rock pedigree, fear not. The film avoids modish stylisation in favour of a rather free-wheeling, Altmanesque approach to construction and character development. The viewer is left to decipher dialogue and make connections for themselves.

The piece is beautifully photographed and edited, and makes wonderful use of the 'steadicam' camera mount. Only at the very end does Lowenstein indulge himself in promo-style picture-making to sell the tie-in single 'Rooms for the memory'. And presumably give his otherwise pretty uncompromising vision some commercial lustre.

As with Altman's best work, the guiding hand is detached but compassionate. The characters are all fiercely idiosyncratic individuals, often infuriating and shallow. But they are never mocked. Instead we see that their silliness is often merely a result of an attempt to either forge uniqueness or merely belong, and as such it often attains a strange nobility.

At the films heart, though, lies a discernible disillusionment with, and subtle but pointed criticism of, the reality of the 'punk revolution'. Its most voluble proponents are shown to be either mouthpiece middle class drop-outs or confused, neglected teenagers. And its socio-political effect negligible.

Michael Hutchence's presence (again, presumably largely a commercial consideration) is rather subversively integrated into this schema. He is cast as a pretty but vain, self-obsessed and generally unlikeable singer Sam, whose outwardly anarchistic stance barely conceals a ruthless careerism. Sam is also witty illustration of the fact that punk inevitably existed off the graces of the bourgeois. He has his mother turn up at the squat with a freshly cooked meal and clean clothes while all the other residents are out. Again, though, the effect is wry rather than bile-drenched.

'Dogs' is well-acted by a cast of mostly never-heard-from-agains. The ubiquitous but brilliant Chris Haywood appears briefly to deliver a heartfelt eulogy to a chainsaw. It employs an excellent soundtrack, and special note should be made of the remarkable sound-mix.

It's an evocative, atmospheric snapshot of a sub-culture founded on both vainglorious naivete and admirable, rebellious individuality.

Deserves a deluxe, restored, fully stereophonic, all-bells-and-whistles DVD at the very least.

This is for when you're feeling like you need some company, but you don't feel like venturing past your doorstep. It's a good example of "slice of life" cinema, taking us through the dirty, drug-addled day-to-day life of a punk commune in 1978 Melbourne. The late Michael Hutchence was the best choice to play Sam; though the film is a true story, it seems as if the role were written for Hutchence. Several of the parts were cast with non-actors, people that director Richard Lowenstein found in public, and that only adds to the gritty realism of the film. It's almost enough to make me wish I had been there. The strong performances by Nique Needles (as Tim, a friend and bandmate of Sam's) and Saskia Post (as Sam's girlfriend) are icing on the cake. As a bonus, you won't find a much better soundtrack - Iggy Pop, The Boys Next Door (later the Birthday Party), Brian Eno, Gang of Four, Dogs In Space (Hutchence and other actors/musicians from the film) and Melbourne locals of the day.