The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021
/
Directed by: Ana Katz
Written by: Ana Katz, Gonzalo Delgado
Starring: Daniel Katz, Julieta Zylberberg, Valeria Lois, Mirella Pascual, Carlos Portaluppi
Runtime: 73 min
Synopsis: Sebastian politely faces his neighbors, who complain about his dog’s cries, and similarly reacts to his employers, who forbid pets in the workplace. A series of peculiar and challenging moments like this follow as Sebastian changes jobs and reconnects with his mother. At one point, along with the new responsibility of being a father, Sebastian must contend with an unknown pandemic - one that requires the bizarre preventive measures of walking crouched down and wearing expensive bubble headgear. At times disaffected, at other times cautiously optimistic, “everyman” Sebastian shows surprising resilience through it all.
I'm not entirely sure, but The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet is probably the shortest feature film of this year's Sundance. On one hand, it's an extremely fast viewing, which inevitably reaches a broader audience that can spread the word about the movie. On the other hand, it risks its story and characters in the sense that these could lack proper development. Ana Katz's direction is definitely a standout, employing a gorgeous black-and-white to elevate a story about human resilience and perseverance.
A non-stop series of adverse events affects Sebastian's life, but he always finds a way of moving on, dealing with the most damaging, hurtful of situations in a strangely distant manner. I don't know if this was a technical choice from the actor, Daniel Katz, but Ana Katz and Gonzalo Delgado's screenplay is indeed a bit uneven. Starting with a really unconvincing first half, The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet eventually gets slightly better, but Sebastian is not an easy character to connect with due to his apparent indifference towards everything.
Many things that happen in his life would absolutely destroy some people, so his "whatever" behavior is weird, especially compared to other actions that he performs. In one scene, he looks like a responsible, caring, even funny human being, but as time changes between different periods of his life, Sebastian just looks like someone who doesn't really care about any sort of consequence. This character's inconsistency is definitely my main problem since I really found myself struggling to bond with him. Having watched Land yesterday, the latter approaches the same themes in a much more captivating manner. Technically though, the film has plenty of aspects worth praising.
Final Thoughts
Beautifully shot in B&W and accompanied by an interesting score (Nicolas Villamil), The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet is meant to be a character-study about a person's resilience, determination, and perseverance in the face of the worst situations that happen across one's life. Despite the message being successfully transmitted, Daniel Katz's character is far from being a compelling protagonist due to his apparent indifference towards every negative event. Acceptance and moving on is understandable and motivational even, but if the movie doesn't depict the moments that define these steps, then it becomes really challenging to feel sorry for the main character, let alone inspired. Ana Katz demonstrates her talented directing skills, but her admittedly creative screenplay co-written with Gonzalo Delgado lacks consistency and energy.
