Attraverso i miei occhi

... every now and then, whether we will admit it or not, we all need to watch such a film. If all you watch are Christopher Nolan and Ingmar Bergman films, you will eventually find yourself staring glassy eyed into space, drinking heavily, and wondering, in the words of the 70s band Chicago - "Does anybody really know what time it is?".

It's the story of Denny, an average Joe with a rather unique occupation - teacher of race car driving and an aspiring race car driver himself. What makes the story even more unique is the viewpoint - a story told in flash back by Denny's dog Enzo as is he is dying of old age in Denny's arms, starting from the time Denny adopted him as a puppy, to Denny's marriage to Eve, to the birth of their daughter, and everything that came in between and after.

Kevin Costner does a good job of narrating for Enzo. The pup makes the movie, and the actors don't try to get in the way. It is all about loyalty, determination, grieving, fear of abandonment, and friendship. But I do disagree with some reviewers here. I don't think I'd let a kid under ten see this. It gets pretty heavy at points. And a stuffed zebra has a scene that is as surreal as the Twilight Zone episode I saw as a kid with a bunch of mannequins calling out "Marsha!" to a terrorized woman locked in a department store at night. I saw that over 50 years ago and it still scares me. But I digress.

I'd recommend this when you just want a watch a film with admirable characters acting admirably in response to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. But there is one hissable villain just to give the film a little balance. I'd recommend it.

I hadn't read the book that it is based on, so only armed with the knowledge of a short synopsis, I really didn't know what to expect. It was actually quite good.

I thought listening to Kevin Costner drone on for a couple hours as a dog's inner monologue would be tedious, but the nuggets of wisdom peppered with the occasional witticism provided ample entertainment. I often felt like I was watching the "Thoughts of Dog" Twitter account played out in cinematic form. I absolutely loved both Milo Ventimiglia and Amanda Seyfried in this. The daughter was also played especially well by Ryan Kiera Armstrong. The relationships between themselves and also with Eve's (Seyfried) parents was perhaps a bit banal at times, but overall was still believable and endearing - although I felt like hitting the dad with my car at several points.

Afterwards, I overheard several people tell the studio rep that they hadn't expected the movie to be a "tear-jerker", and the sobs coming from the gentleman seated next to me seemed to confirm that. However, I found the story to not be overly sorrowful or sad, but inspirational. A guide, if you will, for how to become an exemplary person shown through the filter of a dog's belief that by gaining this knowledge he'll be reincarnated as a human in his next life. (I know it sounds silly, but it was actually quite poignant.)

I didn't know anything about the movie before watching it. As soon as I saw it was about the life of a dog 'Enzo', beautifully narrated by Kevin Costner by the way, I looked at my wife and told her I will probably cry with this movie. When it's about animals I have difficulties not to cry when something 'happens' to the animal, and that even though I know it's just a movie. And oh boy did I cry with this movie, and so did my wife. At one point we were both balling without ending. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry again, and that's a day later. It's the kind of movie that reminds you previous dogs you owned, or the dogs you have at this moment. I watched it with Lou, my lovely poodle that I rescued, sitting in my lap, and Jef, my Andalucian waterdog, cuddling next to me. You can't help it to compare things from the movie with your actual life and pets. The story itself is not flawless, but it doesn't matter as it is too beautiful to stand still at those little imperfections. The relationship and endless love between Milo Ventimiglia and his dog Enzo is something a lot of dog owners will recognize. I love my dogs so much it hurts just thinking one day I will have to let them go, but knowing they had a good life eases the pain. The Art Of Racing In The Rain is a movie for animal lovers, a movie where you will need a box of tissues. I loved it, but I wonder if I could watch it again.

I expected this to be about average but what a pleasure to watch such a range of emotions. Heartwarming, breaking and also at time so much fun perfectly balanced and acted. A breath of fresh air.

The Art of Racing in the Rain is one of those films that rips your heart out of your chest, dangles it in front of your face, and ultimately gives it back to you. It is a very faithful adaptation of the original novel, with some changes that I personally thought were for the better. Milo Ventimiglia and Kevin Costner bring their A games to this film. You can feel a very strong connection between their characters Denny and Enzo the dog respectively. Though this film isn't the most groundbreaking out there, it is a very well-made, heartfelt retelling of an incredibly heartwarming story.