Houston Chronicle by Cary Darling April 9, 2021
The documentary from Matthew Salleh and Rose Tucker goes to four continents to explore the human-dog relationship.
“We Don’t Deserve Dogs,†the latest film from the Brooklyn-based Australian filmmaking team of director Matthew Salleh and producer/sound recordist Rose Tucker, is, on the face of it, a documentary about dogs. After all, there is a dog in just about every frame, and the lovingly made film’s entire purpose is to champion our four-legged companions for their unstinting loyalty and camaraderie.
But “WDDD†is really less about dogs in particular than the broader human-canine relationship in general and how individuals all over the world — most notably (and weirdly) not in North America or Australia — have bonded with their dogs, even in cultures where it’s frowned upon. It makes for a far starker, and sometimes more discomfiting, experience than what might be expected from a movie meant to celebrate humankind’s best friend.
In Pakistan, we meet a woman who took in a street dog on the verge of death, and her neighbors — already suspicious of her gender nonconforming look — really can’t understand why she would let a dog stay with her in the house. But the presence of a dog in her life has only strengthened her resolve not to bow to conformity. The relationship she has forged with her pet is unbreakable.
More:
https://preview.houstonchronicle.com/movies-tv/review-we-don-t-deserve-dogs-a-tribute-16089286
