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Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
A LETTER TO TRUE
Director Bruce Weber’s letters to True, his youngest golden retriever, form the thin
connective tissue in this discursive documentary. As the letters are being read in
voice-over, True and the rest of Weber’s pack of dogs are filmed jumping into the ocean
at sunrise and later undergoing acupuncture. (Several of the dogs have personal assistants
listed in the credits.) Interspersed in this ode to man’s best friend is 1946’sThe
Courage of Lassie, featuring a 14-year-old Elizabeth Taylor who is amazed to learn
that even then she is someone’s God (in this case a dog’s). Randomly included are the
home movies of Weber’s friend Dirk Bogarde (a corgi aficionado) and his male lover, as
well as an interview with animal breeder Kelly Ammann and her family of hunky,
shirtless sons. It’s Ammann’s belief that her farm animals, in reaction to 9/11, were silent
because of their special sense. This leads to a black-and-white montage of New York City
dogs to Blossom Dearie’s wistful rendition of “I’ll Take Manhattan.”
However, not all segments flow smoothly into the other. The film touches upon the
detention of Haitian refugees, a tribute to both Australian surf clubs and Martin Luther
King, Jr. Gravel-voiced Marianne Faithful narrates Stephen Spender’s poem “The Truly
Great,” the meaning of which is overwhelmed by the accompanying visuals of two
models frolicking in water. Finally, the film meanders back to a touching anecdote with
animal-lover Elizabeth Taylor. The film will appeal to dog lovers and readers of
Vanity Fair (to which photographer Weber contributes). But scenes of him writing
individual letters to True become cloying. And because of its diffused focus, this glossy
and self-indulgent home movie is only intermittently memorable. Kent Turner
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