A Review of ‘Dog’: A curious drama short about blindness to everything but the truth
An older teen takes her blind younger sister on an evening out which soon goes off the tracks.
A Review of ‘Dog’: A curious drama short about the blindness to everything but the truth
Cast: Alexis Felix, Nastasia Koulich, Alexander Carstoiu, Jen Felix, Matthew Marcus, Emilio Velasquez, Gerardo Vitale
Critic’s Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5
Director: Ben Tan
Duration: 13 minutes
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Release: 2024
What’s it about?
An older teen takes her blind younger sister on an evening out which soon goes off the tracks.
Review:
Here is an odd but engaging little drama short about denying the responsibility of one’s actions and dismissing one’s true thoughts. How old does one have to be in order to be guided by a moral compass? Can we accord someone a gesture of genuine love without it being an obligation? These are the themes ostensibly addressed in this film, opening it out to discussion and debate. Also, the cryptic title ‘Dog’ will induce the audience into pondering its context in relation to the film’s characters and narrative.
19-year-old Summer (Alexis Felix) just wants to have good time without being lumbered with a sense of duty to her visually-impaired young sister Lex (Nastasia Coulich). Having planned an evening of drink and dance with friends at a discotheque, Summer feels that her sibling will unintentionally play party-pooper. This situation stirs up a heated argument with her mother (Jen Felix), who reminds her that she’s no more a child and should assume more of a parental role.
This, while Summer comes up with flimsy excuses that the evening out with Lex will not be in the latter’s best interest. Nevertheless, Summer acquiesces. After the two sisters spend some time grooving at the rave, Summer leads Lex out to the basement parking lot to get “some air”. The two are soon joined by a trio of Summer’s male friends (Alexander Carstoiu, Matthew Marcus and Emilio Velasquez). Badly intoxicated and evidently still immature, they try to engage the girls into an irreverent and insensitive conversation - which angers Summer.
A short while later, the girls are driving home when Lex confronts Summer about a touchy subject. Preoccupied about the night’s unsavoury developments and perhaps stung by a sense of guilt and shame, Summer stops thinking straight while at the car’s helm. What follows is tragedy and denial, signified by the motif and actual physical presence of a dog.
The obscure messages in this movie might enthuse some viewers while confusing and putting off others. Yes, it is a tad unclear what writer-director Ben Tan is ultimately trying to convey, indicating that perhaps more plot-points and character are needed. One wonders though, in the course of this story, where it takes a blind person to see the reality of a situation and recognise it for what it is? It seems you can’t pull the wool over Lex’s eyes, even if they might fail to serve their usual human purpose.
