“Denise and Jean-Yves, two accomplices in their seventies, sitting on a bench facing the sea, are waiting for a signal. From whom? Why? It would have been better if they could remember…”
The movie Dogs (‘Les Chiens’ in french) is a short film by director Julie Stunault.
Directed by: Julie Stunault
Written by: Julie Stunault
Genre: Fiction, Drama
Cinematography: Clémence Thurninger
Music by: Simon Lauris
Starring: Agnès Croutelle as Denise and Jean Vincentelli as Jean-Yves
Duration: 8 mn 54 s
Language: French
Subtitles: French and English
Release date: November 2022
Production: StunoCorp
Dogs movie pitch :
Denise and Jean-Yves, two septuagenarian burglars, sit on a bench by the seaside on a sunny day. Their faces are concealed by hoods, and they appear to be waiting for a signal. Confined to the roles of mere accomplices, they bicker and discuss bitterness about the passage of time, old age, and death. Their friend Hervé, reduced to a vegetative state, weighs heavily on their minds. Gradually, their conversation unravels, their memories waver, and cracks emerge — until the sound of a closing door snaps them back to reality. The two old friends are held captive, medicated, and separated by a fence, trapped in an unending loop of conversation from which they cannot escape.
The film’s title, “Dogs” (Les Chiens), is a reference to Diogenes of Sinope, the famous Greek philosopher and representative of the Cynic school. Diogenes once declared that he wanted to be buried “like a dog” and roamed the streets during the day with a lit lantern, challenging passersby with the question, “I am looking for a true man” (meaning a virtuous and wise individual).