by Alex Billington
May 21, 2024
Are dogs more than just "things" that someone owns? Should they be considered in the same way as human beings when it comes to law and courts? Can animals be tried in court on their own separate from their owner? These are the important questions at the heart of this delightful, eccentric, amusing Swiss comedy called Dog on Trial. Originally known as Le Procès du Chien in French (the film was also titled Who Let the Dog Bite? in English but then changed just before the festival) the film is premiering at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in the same section as the other amazing dog film this year - Black Dog (read my review). It's more of a mainstream, kooky, laugh-your-butt-off comedy than most films playing at Cannes, which is fine, because it's still a great time. And it's also a dog lover's movie, once again, though with a caveat as it's more emotional than some might be able to handle. It's the story of a good dog being put on trial in Switzerland.
Dog on Trial is written and directed by and also stars the French-Swiss actress Laetitia Dosch, making her feature directorial debut. She must be a dog lover, too, because I can't imagine her writing and directing this without wanting to tell a story about why dogs are the best and why they deserve to be given full rights and treated with proper respect and care. Inspired by an unfortunate true story, Dog on Trial is about a lawyer named Avril (played by Dosch) who takes on a case in a Swiss city defending a dog (and his eccentric owner) who has bitten a few people. There is some old medieval Swiss law that says a dog (or animal) must be put down and the owner fined if it bites (or harms) someone. The dog in the film named Cosmos is as sweet as can be, though through the legal investigation they discover he tends to snap at people who get in the way of him and his food. Which is pretty normal for dogs. But can they convince a Swiss court this doesn't make him dangerous? And can they stop the very narcissistic lawyer for the woman who was bitten? As serious as this sounds, this is an all-out comedy with edgy humor galore regarding dogs, sex, courts, judges and more.
If you love dogs, watching a dog movie is always fun because you can tell if the dog performer is playing or giving a good performance. Whoever the dog is that played Cosmos (named Kodi in the credits) is adorable because it always seemed to be having a fun time. Its performance is especially amusing, you can tell the dog handler is just behind the camera or somewhere on set making the dog bark or spin or whatever. Cosmos is extra funny to watch because in all the scenes where he is supposed to be aggressive, barking or biting or being agitated, he's just so happy to be working on set doing his "fake" barking that it's obvious on screen. It made me smile and laugh and never took away from the experience of watching the film or the story. In a loud & wild comedy like this, it's better to watch a dog having fun than see the filmmakers try too hard to make the dog's performance look perfect. Or worse – using CGI and VFX to make the dog act correctly. This is especially annoying when some scenes use a real doggie, and others use a clearly computer-generated dog and it's distracting (thankfully not the case in this one). Kodi as Cosmos delivers a dog performance for the ages in here and he instantly joins the ranks of the best "good boy" movie dogs ever. Every scene is a delight.
My other favorite performance in Dog in Trial is from a dog behavior expert they hire to hold onto & watch the dog while he's on trial, played by French actor Jean-Pascal Zadi. I already had a great time laughing at his performance in Final Cut (aka Coupez!), and in this film he's just as hilarious, coming in at just the right time in the story while becoming an important character and dishing out some of the funniest moments that will have you rolling on the floor with laughter. He's become one of my favorite French actors and he's the perfect choice for this role. Dog in Trial is a unique & specific film addressing laws in Switzerland, however it still has universal appeal and can connect with any dog lover from any country. The ending may not go the way I wanted it to, but I also feel there's immense value in the way it plays on emotions to make the film's impact linger & last longer after watching. It's hard to ever forget a film that makes you laugh this much and makes you want to hang out with this dog, too. I'm so glad I discovered this one in the Cannes 2024 line-up.
Alex's Cannes 2024 Rating: 8 out of 10
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