Category: HAR: Petkeeping
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Hotel for Dogs. Dir. Thor Freudenthal. Dreamworks. 2009.
Animals, a cutesy love story and the rise of underdogs… literally. What more could you want in a film? Well, ‘Hotel for Dogs’ (Thor Freudenthal/ 2009) covers a multitude of heart-wrenching topics which are compacted within a fun-loving Nickelodeon film. W.C. Fields stated ‘never work with children or animals’;[1] Thor Freudenthal the director ignores this…
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The Banshees of Inisherin. Dir. Martin McDonagh. Searchlight Pictures. 2015
“Do you think God gives a damn about miniature donkeys, Colm?” “I fear he doesn’t. And I fear that’s where it’s all gone wrong.” Martin McDonagh’s, “The Banshees of Inisherin” (2022), is a Tolstoyan tragicomedy combined with macabre naturalism which works to present the asperity and invaluableness of life and friendship. One significant friendship occurs between…
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Paddington Bear. Dir. Paul King. S. 2014
Paddington, directed by Paul King, captures the life of an orphaned bear who travels from Peru to London sponsored by his Aunt Lucy to seek a better life the mythic aspirations of most immigrants. As a young bear club Paddington is presented as a wilful, yet kind hearted character who exhibits dignity despite being faced…
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The Future. Dir. Miranda July. Roadside Attractions (US). 2011
The title of the film, The Future, is emblematic of the very thing the characters fear, what is the unknown. July certainly lets the cat out of the bag as she reveals her inner monologue through the narration of an anthropomorphic feline. The cat plays a central role in the drama, as it begins with…
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Kedi. Dir. Ceyda Torun Oscilloscope Laboratories (2016)
Have you ever wondered what the everyday life of a street cat looks like? ‘Kedi’ is an observational documentary film that follows the stray cats of Istanbul through their daily life, soundtracked by interviews of real-life people that become our narrators and storytellers for the history of these cats. The documentary goes beyond the stereotypical…
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Mr Popper’s Penguins. Dir. Mark Waters. 20th Century Fox. 2011.
Jim Carrey and Penguins. It does not get any better. Think Beethoven but with Penguins. Try to spot the difference between the CGI penguins and the real ones. Grab the popcorn. As you can surmise from the title, the film details Mr Popper who is played by Jim Carrey and his hijinks with the penguin…
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Barking Dogs Never Bite. Dir. Bong Joon-ho. Cinema Service. 2000.
Barking Dogs Never Bite is a dark comedy film directed by Bong Joon-ho, who has received critical praise for his recent filmography, in the same genre, Parasite. This film deals with a seemingly small incident about the disappearance of dogs in one apartment complex, but it raises questions about social morality and justice problems prevalent…
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Hocus Pocus. Dir Kenny Ortega. Walt Disney Pictures. 1993
Thackery Binx is one of the central figures of Hocus Pocus, and in doing this the film considers the status of domesticated animals within society and cinema. Hocus Pocus acknowledges cats’ role as a domestic sphere defenders. Binx is specifically transformed into a cat because of the meanings we associate with them in our society,…
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We Need To Talk About Kevin. Dir. Lynne Ramsay. 2011. Youtube.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to mourn Mr. Snuffles, who was snuffed out.“ Lynne Ramsay’s psychological thriller We Need to Talk About Kevin portrays the debate of nurture versus nature through the relationship of an emotionally distant mother and psychopathic son. The purposeful inclusion of a guinea pig who serves as a vessel for…
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Me and You and Everyone We Know. Dir. Miranda July. IFC Films. 2005
Me and You and Everyone We Know – fish scene Goldfish have been domesticated by humans for thousands of years, and Me and You and Everyone We Know invites an engrossing encounter with the sea animal as it appears in a plastic bag swaying on top of a fast-moving car. This clip of a fleeting…