A feature length documentary of an American’s pet dog seems little to get excited about until you put world-renowned experimental artist Laurie Anderson in the director’s chair to tell the story of her beloved rat terrier, Lolabelle.
Fans of Anderson will recall her last major presence in Adelaide as one of the headlining artists of the 2013 Adelaide Cabaret Festival, presenting two concerts and an exhibition. This time, although not for the first time, she turns her talents to film in a poetic and heartfelt ode that is about far more than just a pet she lost. Heart of a Dog is a meditation on memory, about family, love, death and life.
Filled with Anderson’s absurdist humor, sketch animations, spoken word-songs and poetry, we journey through her past, viewing her world through filters of rain or parchment, blurred visions and rapid fire text. Through post 9/11 times to her relationship with her mother, we’re told – quite rightly – that the more we tell of our memories, the more they fade.
More than once, Anderson quotes author David Foster Wallace who tells us “Every love story is a ghost story” and this ode to Lolabelle, life and family is exactly that – a haunting ghost story of a past worth remembering, told in Anderson’s inimitable style. Whether it’s sharing footage of Lolabelle in concert playing a keyboard (true!) or contemplating the wisdom of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Anderson’s storytelling style is far from maudlin despite the sentimental dreamscape she presents.
Running 75 minutes, Heart of a Dog is paired with the masterful Ausdance SA short film, Gaia, a breath-taking statement on the decline and rebirth of Mother Earth, told through dance and imagery. Created by Erin Fowler and Nick Graalman, with music by Chris Larkin, Gaia is powerful, entertaining and mesmerizing as we are lead down a darkening path that begins with natural harmony and collapses into the overcrowded, polluted machinations of mankind, through to the final realization that nature can and will adapt and thrive against the odds. It’s a harsh wakeup call with a welcome glimmer of hope.
Two sensational films of equal ranking.
Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Twitter: @StrtegicRetweet
Rating out of 10: 9 (both films)
Gaia and Heart of a Dog will screen again on 23 October 2015 at part of the Adelaide Film Festival, running 15-25 October 2015.
- View the Gaia trailer on Vimeo
- Laurie Anderson’s website
- Gaia film website
- Chris Larkin’s website
- Ausdance SA
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