A Letter to True

'Letter to True,' is fashion photographer Bruce Weber's peculiar, slapdash, often ostentatious cinematic documentary postcard to his wife, Nan, as narrated in a letter to his dog, True. Weber's documentary style here is devoid of any leash law.

We see Weber's penmanship unfold across the screen in shaky images, all the while attempting to follow the text despite the fact that its words are included in the audio. It is a difficult and rather tragic narrative device, but tragedy is one of the films main themes.

For Weber, a soundtrack of old Jazz crooners link loosely collected clips of early Elizabeth Taylor films, scenes from 'Rin Tin Tin,' a brief encounter with a ruckus family on a horse farm, and sequences of swimming (even surfing) golden retrievers, to yield, somehow, a poignant reflection of the September 11th terrorist attacks and a somber remembrance of their victims.

This atypical tribute has also been called a film for dog lovers. Yet Weber's dogs are hardly lovable neighborhood mutts, unless perhaps your dog is pretty enough for the cover of Italian Vogue. The rowdy canine throng, which is essentially the focal point of the film, is impressively well trained, gorgeously groomed, and free to wreak havoc on all their surroundings.

Weber's pets seem to be better off than the wrongfully incarcerated Haitian political prisoners whose struggle he clumsily and mysteriously refers to. They are privy to play dates with African elephants and promises of cross country jaunts in his custom rebuilt antique cars, complete with newly installed audio systems.

One hopes that True the dog, who we are told still struggles with his solemn memories of that horrible day in September, is not trained to open the mail.

This is wonderful film that I just happened to come across while flipping channels on the TV -- and was immediately drawn in. I am now trying to find it on DVD but fear that it has not been released. I was captivated by the soulful images of the Goldens and other animals, the water and the overall feeling of peace and good will it seemed to convey. I was totally relaxed by the time the film ended and left wanting to see more, which is why I'm trying to learn whether it is available on DVD yet. I was not previously familiar with any of Bruce Weber's work but will now certainly be looking for more films and photos by him.

The wonderful music kept me in this movie. Especially the tenor sax, my "true" love.

Interesting but disconnected vignettes held together only by melodious bonds.

I had watched this twice on Sundance, the first time wondering what was the point.

Bruce Weber's pastiche is really just that. An abstract of his moments, people he has known, 9/11, Liz Taylor, a can of Chef Boyardee, his friend dying of AIDS. Dirk Bogarde, Haitian oppression, Rin Tin-Tin, his summer house, the beautiful dogs, romping on the beach.

I first saw this during a loss of my own, imminent divorce. Thinking of war, there are no clear answers. This film works if only to get a smattering of someones life; at least this is reality TV worth watching, the personalities are noteworthy.

If you are not a stickler for theme, and are a dog lover you may enjoy this. It is recommended as long as you are a creative person who can go with the flow.

First off, don't even attempt to watch this if you're not an avid dog lover. To be a true dog lover (excuse the pun... 'True' is also the name of the dog in the film's title) one not only feels an affection and admiration of dogs; they compulsorily get in tune with the mind of dogs with their patience, their gentleness, their playfulness, their wildness, their intelligence, their loyalty and their sense of wonder, amusement and dare I say, inherent Buddha Nature (living in the moment, being non-judgmental...). As one who has learned a lot about the inherent philosophy of dogs and has had the great luck to know the pure joy of their loving company, I can say that I loved this film. I also cried harder than I ever have for my dearest pooch who died over 25 years ago. I miss her every day.

Still, this film will have its detractors and I will say that I can understand why people might find this film 'difficult' or even unwatchable. It starts with a B&W vignette of a naked woman lounging around her parlor, then there's a vignette about Dirk Bogarde that seems to veer away from the subject of dogs, a vignette about a redneck family who raise dogs, horses and other animals, segments about war, surfing, Haiti, Liz Taylor, 9/11 and Martin Luther King, all interwoven with home movies of Weber's dogs and occasional clips form classic dog movies like Lassie & Rin Tin Tin. Is there something to this seemingly incoherent mess?

I think for most people it will be a giant headache. It worked for me because A) as a Dirk Bogarde fan (!) and a lover of home movies, I could have watched that vignette forever (Bogarde also presents some of the film's theme: "being me is being the person I always was... that child in the meadow... having that innocence again, the freedom, that possibility of life before you, to exist to live as simply and as happily as I can") and B) I somehow watched this movie from the perspective of True, the addressee of the proposed letter. How does life sum up in the mind of a dog? When I go shopping for food or go surfing or gardening or watching a movie, I think of my dog and I try to share that experience with her. I show her pictures in magazines and read her poetry so indeed, I feel a kinship to Bruce Weber for essentially doing the same with his dogs in this film (and I cradle my pooch in my arms and sway when I listen to music as I did while watching this film). This is a symbiotic vision of man and dog of this crazy often beautiful and often tragic world that we live in. From a dog's perspective, it's pretty crazy, sad and funny. Maybe if more humans could see how unnecessary our prejudices and our need to bend the world into our selfish desires really are, we'd have a better world. The movie invites us to let go of our instinctive prejudices (got a problem with nudity? Your dog is naked... what's the big deal?) and just see the world through dog eyes. Maybe happiness isn't as illusive as we think it is.