This film was previously reviewed in February 2021 as part of our Sundance Film Festival coverage.

Neighbours gather in front of Sebastian’s (Daniel Katz) door, their open umbrellas awkwardly competing for the limited space. This unexpected procession sees person after person arriving to tell the young man how disturbing are his dog’s constant mournful howls. As the neighbours take turns guessing what can possibly be ailing the animal, from birth traumas to loneliness, Sebastian stands still, leaning against his front door in effortless passivity. 

This passivity or, better, this refined tendency to leave alone matters that will bring nothing other than conflict, is what allows the man to so courteously bow to life, graciously navigating both tragedy and ecstasy. Yet, it is also what muddles Sebastian’s identity, his sense of self often intertwined with someone else’s – either out of an inability to instigate friction or sheer apathy. The man, whose life is a neverending parade of brief encounters, is the direct product of causality, moving from one place to the next in a perpetual cycle of compliance. 

In his first-ever acting role, Daniel Katz – director Ana Katz’s real-life brother – brings a composed rawness to Sebastian, his tranquil countenance never perturbed. In his portrait of this Simple Man, the actor grants simplicity to what is extremely complex. With only brief pieces of dialogue, much is left to be communicated through glances and calculated gestures, from a delightfully uninhibited mating dance to the painfully bent joints brought by a dystopian disease. 

A poetic ode to living in all its ordinary glory, The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet is a triumph. Through its contemplative pace, Katz builds an elegant patchwork that never fails to find beauty in the quiet, a tender study of human resilience that is as poignant as it is striking. In a world that travels at an anxiety-inducing speed, it is a very welcome gift. 

RATING: 5/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Daniel Katz, Valeria Lois, Mirella Pascual

DIRECTOR: Ana Katz

WRITERS: Gonzalo Delgado, Ana Katz

SYNOPSIS: Sebastian, a man in his thirties, works temporary jobs and he embraces love at every opportunity. He transforms, through short encounters, as the world flirts with possible apocalypse.