Brace yourself for an odd little film here. It's probably something you've never seen the likes of before, even if you think you have. A Boy and His Dog is a post apocalyptic film about a boy... and his dog. This boy, Vic, who is played by a very young Don Johnson, communicates telepathically with his dog, Blood, voiced by Tim McIntire. Together, Vic and Blood walk the post apocalyptic desert in search of food, shelter, and sex. Vic finds his chance when he encounters a girl who takes him back to her fallout shelter, which has become a tyrannical dictatorship run by "the committee." The film's fairly simplistic plot actually transforms into a big happy of ball of ironic, sardonic, and cynical, and the results are as peculiar as they are intriguing.
A film as odd as this is hard to completely take in on the first watch. You sort of just have to take it in for what it is, which is off balance and strange. It is a quirky film with strange characters, bizarre events, and campy direction that gives the whole tone an overtone of mock seriousness. It is all sort of jumbled together, making it hard to comprehend every little thing that is going on. The film jumps around and doesn't feel the need to draw things out or even explain them in depth. I respect this kind of film, one that has a very selective audience, but it is something that can require a second watch if you want to get the full effect. There are a lot of oddities in here to catch you off guard, and they did just that. I found myself doing a double take a lot of the time going, "Wait. What exactly is going on?" But I can tell by everything that I did pick up on, as well as some of what I've read on the film, that there is a lot more than meets the eye with this film, thus I feel like a complete understanding will take some more time in the future.
If you just look at this film as a B sci-fi flick without anything going for it, you can really see it as a bad film. The direction is odd and a lot of the time it is so dark you can't tell what is going on. This could have been the poor video quality the Netflix stream of the film has, or it could be the film itself. I'm not really sure. Furthermore, this film does have some serious camp to it. Don Johnson's acting is really cheesy, albeit amusing, and there is some very cheesy dialouge which elicits more laughs than cringes, thank God. But it is obvious from the get-go that this isn't a multi-million dollar sci-fi epic blockbuster. This is a small film that knows it has plenty of quirks and flaws, but it plays those up in order to create a very amusing film.
I definitely want to watch this film again eventually, because it's obvious that there is a lot more to get out of this film than just a cheap sci-fi film. In a way I can compare this film to A Clockwork Orange because of its sardonic tone, the amount of cynical irony and sarcasm, all combined with cheese and camp that actually has a much more complex meaning and can seem silly to the untrained eye. A Boy and His Dog might just be a simple little sci-fi film with some thoughtful undertones, or it might be a masterpiece. I've yet to find out, but another viewing should determine that for me.
A film as odd as this is hard to completely take in on the first watch. You sort of just have to take it in for what it is, which is off balance and strange. It is a quirky film with strange characters, bizarre events, and campy direction that gives the whole tone an overtone of mock seriousness. It is all sort of jumbled together, making it hard to comprehend every little thing that is going on. The film jumps around and doesn't feel the need to draw things out or even explain them in depth. I respect this kind of film, one that has a very selective audience, but it is something that can require a second watch if you want to get the full effect. There are a lot of oddities in here to catch you off guard, and they did just that. I found myself doing a double take a lot of the time going, "Wait. What exactly is going on?" But I can tell by everything that I did pick up on, as well as some of what I've read on the film, that there is a lot more than meets the eye with this film, thus I feel like a complete understanding will take some more time in the future.
If you just look at this film as a B sci-fi flick without anything going for it, you can really see it as a bad film. The direction is odd and a lot of the time it is so dark you can't tell what is going on. This could have been the poor video quality the Netflix stream of the film has, or it could be the film itself. I'm not really sure. Furthermore, this film does have some serious camp to it. Don Johnson's acting is really cheesy, albeit amusing, and there is some very cheesy dialouge which elicits more laughs than cringes, thank God. But it is obvious from the get-go that this isn't a multi-million dollar sci-fi epic blockbuster. This is a small film that knows it has plenty of quirks and flaws, but it plays those up in order to create a very amusing film.
I definitely want to watch this film again eventually, because it's obvious that there is a lot more to get out of this film than just a cheap sci-fi film. In a way I can compare this film to A Clockwork Orange because of its sardonic tone, the amount of cynical irony and sarcasm, all combined with cheese and camp that actually has a much more complex meaning and can seem silly to the untrained eye. A Boy and His Dog might just be a simple little sci-fi film with some thoughtful undertones, or it might be a masterpiece. I've yet to find out, but another viewing should determine that for me.