“Dog Years 2”, a sequel to the obviously named “Dog Years”, also available on AtomFilms, reminds us that dogs are indispensable in so many ways. They’re always happy to see us, they keep stress down, and they show us that the world, or our world anyway, isn’t always at a breaking point. Sometimes, we just make like it is.
Shot in Super 8mm, the best kind of film to look at memories, we hear the thoughts of Ben, a 46-year-old dog (in dog years, of course), who’s bothered by the inflamed glands in his rear. His frustration is spoken in the lushest words from Richard Penfold’s script, by Richard Haigh, who demonstrates that dogs think too, making us wonder what our own mutts would sound like if they had voices. Ben speaks fondly of the days where his siblings were sent to different homes and he and another sibling had their mother’s milk to themselves, an enormous improvement over the days when he got very little. All the while, Ben runs around with his owner and for dog lovers, it’s footage that makes us remember dogs that were once and still are part of our family. There is much we do for our dogs and Sam Hearn and Penfold intricately understand that, giving us a visual essay of sorts that rewards dog lovers for all we have done for good furry friends in the past, and other viewers with a rare richness in language.
