A melancholic, yet beautiful, tribute to the human experience, artist/ director Laurie Anderson’s Heart of a Dog combines animation, stock footage, and personal home movies to create a phenomenal experimental film, proving especially powerful for those of us who love dogs. The passing of her rat terrier Lolabelle, whom she not so subtly describes as her child, serves as the catalyst for the film. At just over an hour runtime, Heart of a Dog is a meditative journey through one woman’s experience of love and loss that creates an unforgettable cinematic watch.

Technically, Heart of a Dog is categorized as a documentary, but it is more of a personal essay film as there is no true linear story to speak of. It plays out as a series of thoughts randomly connecting in Anderson’s brain; the anecdotes about her childhood, the effects of 9/11, and the similarities between a dog’s fears and our own are all explored and met with stark conclusions.

Fans of performance artist Marina Abramović may find similarities in Anderson’s work and visual presentation, but is really a film for everyone so long as you are open to the experience and remain open-minded.

Some of the most interesting moments are when we see Anderson’s daily life through her dog’s point of view. The audience gets up close and personal with a slobbering bulldog, we cross the busy New York City streets and travel through the tall fields near the California coastline all from the perspective of her K9 companion. This, of course, is when Lolabelle still had her sight. Once her vision started to go, Anderson creatively found ways to keep Lolabelle’s spirits up by teaching her how to play the piano and sculpt with clay. Granted, these things are near impossible to “teach” a dog, but the footage of Lolabelle enjoying these activities in her old age is one of the sweetest things I have ever seen.

Anderson, a Buddhist, has a way of speaking that puts the audience at ease. Her talk of death is not morbid, but rather wondrous, as she states she is not afraid of dying, “I came from the sky and knew that one day I would go back,” and, “The process of death is the release of love.” In the Tibetan afterlife the deceased, including Lolabelle, go through a 45 day decompressing period where their spirit and energy is transferred to their next life. It is comforting for Anderson to know Lolabelle will soon enjoy life on earth again, and instead of feeling lonely or sad for herself, she passes the time by painting murals of Lolabelle, which can be seen in the above picture.

Fans of performance artist Marina Abramović may find similarities in Anderson’s work and visual presentation, but this is really a film for everyone so long as you are able to surrender to the experience and remain open-minded. Those going through a difficult time will especially find solace in Heart of a Dog as Anderson’s spiritual knowledge is applicable to so many life situations. All around a daring and moving experience that deserves to be seen.

Heart of a Dog opens in Los Angeles at the Nuart today, national expansion to follow.