Baxter

Baxter is a white bull terrier. A woman gives him to her mother as a present. Baxter thinks, and we hear what he thinks; the dog's interior voice runs through the whole film. He finds the old woman boring. The young couple in the house opposite interest him more; there is an order there, and a force. Then a baby arrives in that house and Baxter is pushed out. At last somebody appears who understands him: a boy who is interested in the history of war and likes discipline. The boy gives orders and Baxter likes orders. Jerome Boivin directs. The film is adapted from a novel by Ken Greenhall. Lise Delamare, Jean Mercure, Jacques Spiesser and Catherine Ferran are in the cast. It is a French production. The narrative proceeds entirely from the dog's view and the interior voice never stops. The matter it treats is obedience; the dog is not looking for an owner but for an authority. The film does not make the dog endearing and breaks the expectation of an animal picture at once. The boy's interests set up the political reference of the story. The narrative is cold and distant; music is used sparingly. The film gives its violence suddenly and without explanation. The camera usually stays at the height of the dog. The ending is uncomfortable and closes without explanation. Its limit is tone; the narrative is cold, the subject strange, and it is hard going for anyone fond of animals. Who it is for: viewers who like strange French films and unusual narrators. Who it is not for: it is cold, uncomfortable, and the ending dark.