Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
A documentary about a pet cemetery in California, and the people who have pets buried there.
Errol Morris's debut documentary is a singular, deeply strange work that transcends its humble premise — a pet cemetery in California — to become a meditation on death, American dreams, longing, and eccentricity. Its novelty is undeniable: Morris invented a new kind of observational documentary here, letting subjects reveal themselves through deadpan, unnervingly still compositions that influenced a generation of filmmakers. Roger Ebert famously named it one of the ten best films ever made. The cinematography is deliberately flat and static, which is part of its artistic identity rather than a flaw, but it doesn't dazzle technically. The 'acting' (real people being themselves) is compelling in its oddness. The ending, while fitting, trails off rather than landing a decisive final note. Novelty is the film's defining virtue — there is nothing quite like it.