Science Fiction

The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet is the sixth feature from Ana Katz, who is prolific as a director, and even more so as an actor, and is perhaps her most formally adventurous. As with the meteorite, Katz employs rough sketches crafted by production designer Mariela Rípodas (at times animated in rudimentary fashion) to get across moments too painful or too costly to shoot or create with VFX. These hand-drawn segments feel in harmony with the film’s unassuming charm. Co-penned with Gonzalo Delgado and shot by five different cinematographers, Katz’s most recent piece of unconventional cinema captures profoundly thought-provoking reflections in a succinct and unsanctimonious vessel, which makes it all the more praiseworthy. The nagging pup the title alludes to ultimately symbolizes that within us that propels us to strive for something soul-nourishing during our limited time here.

Although The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2021 to a warm reception, the movie is currently unavailable to stream, rent, or buy in the United States. It enjoyed a brief run on Mubi but has since lost to the vertiginous and unforgiving content churn that rarely favors idiosyncratic international titles. Hopefully, like its protagonist, the movie will find another chance at being properly discovered stateside soon.