Dogs Don't Wear Pants

Great movie for the connoisseur of the unusual and odd. If the story sounds interesting and appealing to you - watch, if not, do not bother. Anyway, I enjoyed watching Dogs Don't Wear Pants a lot - remarkable and strong are the performances by Pekka Strang and Krista Kosonen - without that fine acting, the story would look awkward, ridiculous and just fall apart.

Final words: in these times, where card-box characters and stories flood our screens en masse, an indeed exceptional delicious piece - if you like something different to watch.

Dogs Don't Wear Pants (Finland, J.P. Valkeapaa, 2019) - "It is by going down into the abyss," said Joseph Campbell "that we recover the treasures of life."

A surgeon, Juha, sinks into depression after his wife drowns. Neglecting his job, daughter and health, Juha is breaking down. When he stumbles into the orbit of Mona, a dominatrix, she becomes an obsession for him. Through her there are flashbacks to moments with his wife. Juha cannot get enough. Mona too is infatuated. Here is someone impervious to her charms. As they push each other deeper, someone has got to blink.

The radiance of Dogs Don't Wear Pants is the focus on the characters of both Mona and Juha, not one or the other. Also, it is deep and enlightening in ways I did not expect. There is no simple formula and no one has sold out to "the man." The film is liberating, cathartic. "You are alive after all," says a friend to Juha. So are all who witness and appreciate this little gem. Streaming on Shudder. Four and a half of five stars.

Those who think that this movie is about sex or fetishes they are wrong. It is about loss and coping with loss. People in general deal with loss in different ways. Some start to drink, some start to take drugs, some start to harm themselves and some get into kink and sadomaso world. It is a way to deal with your feelings and pain. Go see this movie with an open mind and heart.

I had no idea what to expect going into this. I saw this on Shudder and expected a horror flick, maybe a dominatrix who brutally abuses or dismembers men who abused her in the past. I was wrong, happily so. This was not a horror movie, this was a love story... sort of. It's worth a watch.

I had a hunch that the only criticism one might read about this movie is about the "BDSM culture" and how this movie fails to portray it. It's as much about BDSM culture as Lolita is about pedophilia - newsflash, it's not about it. It's also not a documentary. It's art. Chill out.

That being said. The movie is very minimal and I personally loved it. Almost every frame has a meaning and it's not a movie to casually eyeball over. The duet of Krista Kosonen and Pekka Strang is magnificent. Great film making and acting over here, I truly appreciate it.

So if you're interested in some nordic noir, some scandinavian weirdness, the poster and the name tickles you... give this film a chance.