The Trial of the Dog: A Colorful Fantasy (review)
Under the guise of a wacky comedy recounting the trial of a dog accused of biting, Laetitia Dosch signs a touching meditation on the condition of animals.
Actress with a fanciful acting style and a varied filmography, Laetitia Dosch also distinguished herself in a live show (HASTE) where she shared the stage with a horse. It is therefore quite consistent that her first film as a director explores the animal condition in a very personal and inspired way.
The story takes place in Switzerland, in Lausanne, where the lawyer Avril (played by Laetitia Dosch herself) is so used to lost causes that she accepts the offer made by a visually impaired client to defend his dog during a trial, suspected of having bitten a woman and being guilty of misogyny. The strength of this seemingly offbeat legal fable – but nevertheless inspired by a true news story – lies in the seriousness with which the social behavior of the dog is dissected while a colorful human gallery shows individuals each in their own way traumatized, misunderstood or abandoned by society.
Made up of François Damiens, Anne Dorval, Jean-Pascal Zadi and Pierre Deladonchamps, the cast has fun happily portraying this group of colorful characters who build a bridge between the human condition and the animal condition. The filmmaker has thus succeeded in creating a work that is as endearing as it is disconcerting, reminding us that humanity would benefit from considering animals as people in their own right and not as objects to be enslaved, so that the many planetary crises of the future can be approached with greater serenity and harmony.
By Laetitia Dosch With Laetitia Dosch, François Damiens, Jean-Pascal Zadi… Duration 1h25. Released on September 11, 2024
