Documentary+Review

media type="custom" key="7163381" width="190" height="190" = = =Last Minutes with Oden, (Minuts en els últims amb el Oden ) 2010, Music: **Justin Vernon** (**Bon Iver**) & **Aaron Dessner** (**The National**), Phos Pictures, Directed by Eliot Rausch= = = The Documentary "Last Minutes with Oden" is a touching, emotional documentary about the last few hours of a dog's life. Before the dog is even seen, however, the narrator, (his owner) gives a background on the dog, and his personality, and his friendship and love toward him and his friends. The narrator tells how his dog has taught him to love, and to get through hard times. The effectiveness of what he talks about is due to the fact that it is not written down, and is spoken when he is actually in each scene. For example, at a point in time, he is taking the Oden (the dog) to the vet for his lethal injection. Oden's owner, Jason Wood is distraught and talks while the tears flow from his eyes and his voice is constricted by sorrow. He uses this voice track to emotionally attach the viewer to his dog. Teh narrator, after describing the key good characteristics of his dog, takes the camera into his house, and shows the viewing community his three-legged cancerous dog minutes before his euthanasia by lethal injection. Jason and his wife live in a small dingy, dark apartment in a generally gloomy-looking suburb of the US. A recurrent scene from this time in the film is the man, Jason taking frequent pulls on a cigarette to suffuse his pain. Also to keep his mind off his dog, Jason is shown several times riding his bicycle aimlessly around town. Walking aimlessly and/or occupying oneself by doing something habitually are general indications of great sorrow, or anguish. This devotion and pain felt towards the dog shows the real love and attachment that people can have to their pets.

Tall, bearded, muscular, with glasses and innumerable tattoos, Jason Wood puts into mind a "tough-guy" personality, yet a soft and caring man is what is really shown to be the true inner being of this ironic character. Jason Wood and his wife have the dilapidated, slightly wilted look of defeated people beyond tears, although they do have their moments of visible grief. His wife, though only briefly shown, appears to be as emotionally attached to Oden as Jason. She cries along with him in the moments of sadness and comforts him in his moments of insecurity. Average height, with shoulder length dirty blond hair, and a weathered face, she is a comfort to those who see, and are affected by this film. Finally: Oden, the dog. The subject of the film, and the character that holds the human mind the best. Stumbling along on three legs, Oden is the only character that hooks the viewer to the film, and as one progresses, they would see the diseased dog slowly slipping away into nothingness.

Oden is said, by Jason to be the guy who taught him to love, showing that Jason, before Oden was not as loving as his is now, after Oden's death. The purpose of this film was really to impress upon us, the viewers, that love between a human and his pet can be as strong a bond as that between two humans. That love is real, whether it be between two people or a person and an animal. Therefore, one can see that the love that Jason's wife shows him is equal to what he shows his dog, Oden. This documentary really makes one feel the deepness of death, and it's finality, and it gives touching insight into the feelings of a man who is going through the misery of a slowly dying friend.

Excellent description of the film! 24/24