EIFF REVIEW: Dogsville a Touching Doc on Good Dogs
It’s all spelled out in the opening frame: Dogs are perfect. Always perfect.
Screening Saturday as part of the Edmonton International Film Festival, Dogsville is an hour-long documentary about competitive dog training – leading to the IFCS World Agility Championship in the Netherlands. It’s also a probing look at the trainers behind the competitions, and a come-from-behind story of a little fellow named Crocodile Crunch who takes on some of the most highly-trained canines in the world.
Just watching these fleet four-footed athletes is exciting enough as they run at ferocious speed through a labyrinth of obstacles – but possibly not enough to keep the uninitiated interested for the entire hour – but there’s much more to it than that. Director Rosvita Dransfeld keeps the pace up and conducts a series of telling interviews with the trainers – all the while returning to the ring where these magnificent animals, many with generations of breeding behind them, run their hearts out.
The documentary begins here in Edmonton (credit watchers might note that peerless local actor John Ullyatt was a story consultant) at the Dynamo Dogsports facility where Kirstin and Seanna O’Neill train the animals. Many laurels, ribbons and medals line the walls, attributing to the two women’s past successes.
”Only the best and brightest get to play here,” narrates Dransfeld solemnly. The film concentrates on Crocodile Crunch, a mutt found abandoned at an Edmonton rodeo. The O’Neills tell us that the small loving dog is their favourite. Nervous, highly-trained purebreds often bite. Crunch cuddles.
The opening ceremonies in Holland are certainly reminiscent of the Olympics as some 300 trainers and their dogs parade through the huge facility where the competitions are staged. To win the coveted medals, the animals (and their trainers) must navigate at great speed through a course that includes tunnels, weave poles, tire jumps, seesaws, and pause tables. Dogs run off-leash with no food or toys and the handler can touch neither dog nor obstacles. To make it more difficult, the entire course is changed around each morning. There is a corps of specialized doctors that administer (among other things) acupuncture to the animals.
If you’ve never seen the dog agility trials before, be prepared to be amazed.
Dransfeld also takes time to introduce us to the trainers and their techniques. She follows the trainers during the runs which tells us a lot about where they came from. America is traditionally the largest competitor every year, but they don’t win a lot. The Japanese also score lower in the rankings. “There are lots of cats in Japan and not a lot of dogs and you can’t train cats,” explains trainer. The British love their animals. “I don’t train my dog. He trains me,” says one Brit. The Italians don’t win a lot of medals but the competition is more about the operatic gyrations of the trainer. All present dote on their animals. Observes one, “I don’t like to admit it but I cried more when my dog died than when my father passed away.”
And how does Crocodile Crunch do against all those purebreds? No spoilers.
Dogsville will be shown on Saturday Oct 9 at 1:30 pm at the Landmark Cinemas 9.
