A BOY AND HIS DOG (1975) - ♦♦♦♦

Directed by - L.Q. Jones

Written by - L.Q. Jones, Wayne Cruseturner (based on the novel by Harlan Ellison)

Starring - Don Johnson, Susanne Benton, Jason Robards

"Despite it being a box office failure at the time of its release, A BOY AND HIS DOG by L.Q. JONES has gone on to become a beloved cult movie that even left quite a mark upon the post-apocalyptic genre, which was not instantly recognized but is somewhat undeniable. 

The story of the film, which was based on the novella by HARLAN ELLISON, is driven by the its two central characters; a young man and a dog, whom he can have legitimate conversations with telepathically. As they scavange for food and sex, the two stumble upon an underground society that begin to use the young man for impregnation purposes. 

A BOY AND HIS DOG is a cold and darkly comic vision of a post-apocalyptic world. It is also a strange ensemble of genres, from the lone ranger westerns to the science fiction B-movie, both prominently showing in the visual style of the film. But also engages successfully and even through provokingly with the viewer in a fresh and compact way because of its quite twisted view of morality of the futuristic society. 

This makes it intriguing in an a somewhat unexpected intellectual sense. One of the reasons why that is, is that it openly flirts with tastelessness, and the characters' emotions remain consistently enigmatic as well as their knowledge and perception of right and wrong. But the approach is also true of its open dealings with the theme of sex, cleverly used to imagine an answer to the question of how Earth should be re-populated after a disaster would leave Earth a sorry mess."

Science Fiction, USA