The movie “A Dog’s Love” is a short film that was made in 1914. Despite that this is an old movie I think it is still very efficient. Charlie Chaplin once said that babies and dogs are the best actors. This movie truly proves it. The plot involves a rich little girl. No one wants to play with her, because she is rich. Her parents don’t play with her too.I think that this situation is common even nowadays.
Children don’t need money, they need to communicate with the others. A lot of times children don’t want to accept someone who is wealthier. So the little girl has only one friend – a neighbor’s dog, Shep. It’s pretty depressing as it is, but then a horrible thing happens. The girl gets hit by a car. Soon she passes away. The rest of the movie focuses on the emotional impact of her death on the dog. Shep refuses food, he is depressed and heartbroken. Very unusual and emotional thing happens to underline the tragic situation – the dog makes a daily visit to a florist. Shep brings flowers to the little girl’s grave. Shep even waters the flowers with a watering can. Eventually, Shep sees the little girl’s spirit, which only shows us how the poor dog is sad and melancholic. He follows her to her grave and lays there. After the picture slowly blends into darkness, a title card appears. It says “Don’t cry, it’s only make believe”. It is then followed with shots of the little girl hugging a dog. She has a great smile upon her face. In my opinion, this ending was made to show that the movie was made to have an art value. It is intended to bring emotions. As the cinematography was at its genesis, people needed to separate art from real life.
The situation depicted in the movie is supposed to make people think about life and loyalty. The lack of music only makes the movie more thoughtful, as it needs no sound to bring emotions. The actress plays a big role in the movie. Her behavior really makes you believe that she is a lonely little girl no one accepts, no one but a dog. The dog is a remarkable actor. Shep tells us the story of friendship, friendship which is stronger than death. Animals love people not because of their social status or their appearance. Dogs are considered man’s best friend because of their loyalty. The title of the movie is proper, it shows the main idea. The movie is short, which only makes it more laconic and deep.
In conclusion, this movie is very depressing, but very thoughtful at the same time. Some may consider it too sad to enjoy, but in my opinion it is a great mix of art and feelings. I can’t recommend this movie to an average viewer. This is not a modern movie, where dogs often play funny role in the plot, “A Dog’s Love” is a true-to-life story. But if you’re into emotional movies that make you think – you should watch it.
