Heart of a Dog (2015)
81%RT Audience Score: 64%
Awards & Nominations: 4 wins & 14 nominations
Of a piece with much of director Laurie Anderson’s idiosyncratic output, Heart of a Dog delves into weighty themes with lyrical, haunting grace
Heart of a Dog is a movie that’s as unique as it is charming. It’s not every day that you get to watch a film that cites philosophers, painters, and Jewish grandmothers while also featuring a terrier as the main character. But somehow, director Laurie Anderson pulls it off. The film is a mix of reminiscence and fantasy that’s both honest and calming. It’s a daring and moving experience that’s worth watching, even if you’re not an experimental cinema fan. Plus, who doesn’t love a good dog movie?
Production Company(ies)
Element Pictures, A24, Film4
Distributor
Abramorama
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2016
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.78 : 1
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Runtime:1h 15m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 21, 2015 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 6, 2016
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
documentary, Laurie Anderson, Dan Janvey, Lou Reed, dog, death, grief, experimental, art, music, performance, veterinarian, farmer, chef, nurse, Rat Terrier, Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein, Goya, Jewish grandmothers, honesty, reminiscence, fantasy, experimental cinema, calming, sound design, disjointed structure, emotional reticence, album, movie, daring, moving, capable director, critic reviews, audience reviews, Tomatometer, box office, gross USA, limited release, streaming, rent/buy, MPAA rating, producer, writer, director, reviewed by, Heart of a Dog
Worldwide gross: $476,384
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $587,143
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,702
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 64,029
US/Canada gross: $420,813
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $518,651
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,314
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,893
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $17,123
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,567
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Paul Davidson – Farmer
Laurie Anderson – Narrator
Sasha Grossman – Nurse, Narrator
Kurt Gutenbrunner – Chef, Narrator
Gatto – Rat Terrier, Narrator
Director(s)
Laurie Anderson
Writer(s)
Laurie Anderson
Producer(s)
Dan Janvey, Laurie Anderson
Film Festivals
Venice, Telluride, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
4 wins & 14 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (90) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (86) | Rotten (4)
Like much of Anderson’s work, Heart of a Dog takes the form of casually constructed, almost meandering reminiscences, while at the same time never losing its tightly structured focus and drive.
August 25, 2018
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
The Blue Lenses
TOP CRITIC
… it restores a sense of calm to its subject without evading the most haunting questions.
September 21, 2017
Judy Berman
Flavorwire
TOP CRITIC
The film is often notable for Anderson’s honesty.
January 10, 2017
John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
An unclassifiable but strangely charming combination of reminiscence and fantasy, this is worth seeking out not only for Anderson fans but also for anyone interested in experimental cinema.
October 21, 2016 | Rating: 3.5/5
David Stratton
The Australian
TOP CRITIC
Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein and 9/11 are all thrown into the mix with a lightness of touch at once ephemeral and profound.
May 22, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Mark Kermode
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Nothing if not original, this is almost certainly the only movie about a terrier that cites the writing of Wittgenstein and Kierkegaard, the painting of Goya and the wisdom of Jewish grandmothers.
May 19, 2016 | Rating: 3/5
Geoffrey Macnab
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Heart of a Dog is a triumph and not simply in its love and candor, but in its calming ease that gently reminds viewers: no matter what, everything will be OK.
August 2, 2019
Michael J. Casey
Boulder Weekly
Anderson is auteur, narrator, and guide, grasping our hands and settling us into her vast and gorgeous mind-scape through seamlessly-mixed media and an astonishingly enveloping sound design…
April 9, 2019
Matthew Eng
Tribeca Film
This film’s disjointed structure and emotional reticence would make a better album than a movie. An album also doesn’t demand an engaging overall story to hold our attention, but many of the scenes in this fairly short film had me nodding off.
March 7, 2019
Ren Jender
Bitch Flicks
All around a daring and moving experience that deserves to be seen.
February 6, 2019
Morgan Rojas
Cinemacy
With this film, [director Laurie Anderson] proves herself to be a capable director.
February 15, 2018
Steve Erickson
Gay City News
In the case of Heart of a Dog, the only importance is attached to the name of artist who signed this film.
November 14, 2017
Boris Nelepo
Cinema Scope…
Plot
Multimedia artist Laurie Anderson reflects on her relationship with her beloved terrier Lolabelle.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Heart of a Dog on Fresh Kernels.
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