Rover's Reviews
Year of the Dog (Paramount Vantage, 2007).
By Reviewed by Jessica in Arizona
May 12, 2008, 02:58

Peggy (Molly Shannon) is a single woman who is looking for meaning in her life. Her friends tell her that what she needs in her life is love (meaning a man, marriage, children and babies). But what Peggy ultimately discovers is that love comes in all forms and the love that she needs in her life, the love that defines who she is, is not the love for a man or a child, but a love and compassion for animals.

This movie was not what I expected. Touted as a "dark comedy," and with Molly Shannon (from Saturday Night Live) as the lead star, I expected some laughs. Instead, I got a lot of tears.

In fact, this movie was so tragic, that after Peggy's first two beloved dogs died under terrible circumstances and then all the dogs that she took home to save from being euthanized were taken from her and sent back to the pound, I almost turned the movie off. It was breaking my heart. It hurt to watch poor good-hearted Peggy, who just wanted to help animals, keep making decisions that only made the animals’ situations, as well as her own worse. And it hurt to know that this is a reality; that this sort of thing goes on every day.

On the surface, this movie is a story about an animal-welfare activist and the challenges that she faces in life because of choosing to make her "cause" the number one priority in her life. Peggy faces the difficulties and stigma associated with living a vegan lifestyle, the internal turmoil that comes with feeling a personal responsibility to save animals that are being abused, and the chaos that ensues when she fails to recognize that a single person cannot save every animal.

I am admittedly not a fan of sad movies. There was so much pain and loss in this movie that I didn't want to like it. But I couldn't help myself. This is really a movie about love, compassion and the transformation that comes with self-discovery. Year of the Dog is as beautiful as it is tragic. This movie is meaningful, and well worth watching. However, you will need to bring a box of Kleenex.

And one word of caution, although the movie is rated PG-13, children (and some adults) may find some of the content disturbing.



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