Review of Gates of Heaven

Documentaries can be either very dull or very interesting depending on their subject matter and how said subject matter is presented by the filmmakers. Now, a California pet cemetery most certainly qualifies as a truly eccentric subject for a documentary; it's so inherently strange a topic that it requires a certain amount of taste and restraint on the filmmakers' part to seem serious and involving instead of like some laughable and ridiculous freakshow. Fortunately, producer/director/editor Errol Morris handles this particular subject -- a pet cemetery, the cemetery's owner and employees, and the various people who have buried their deceased pets in the cemetery -- in a commendably delicate, subdued and respectful manner, thus making this strikingly offbeat and original one-of-a-kind feature a genuinely remarkable achievement. Morris wisely shoots the numerous folks he interviews in an appropriately plain, prosaic and unadorned straightforward style, allowing these engagingly colorful individuals to speak at great length, sometimes quite clearly, sometimes rather haltingly, always directly to the camera. There's a welcome and praiseworthy paucity of phony, affected pretension and heightened cloying preciousness evident throughout; however, there's still plenty of authentic heart-wrenching sentiment to be savored in this picture. It's here in spades and is made all the more poignant because it's presented with such great unwavering conviction and a real sense of purpose. While this highly unconventional is definitely out of the ordinary, it's thankfully never really bizarre or grotesque. Instead, it's just different -- and it's this astonishing differentness which makes "Gates of Heaven" a uniquely moving and riveting gem.