How to Mend a Broken Heart

A Brief Commentary: Rachael Moriarty and Peter Murphy’s film, “ROISE AND FRANK”

John Bennison, Mountain Shadow Director

It’s true. Dog owners and dog lovers can be an odd bunch. Spend thirty minutes talking to some two-leggers at a dog park and you’ll be convinced. Perfectly sane humans can willingly and deliberately imbue these 4-legged creatures with the best attributes we could ever hope to find in human relationships. These rare qualities can include endless patience, unswerving fidelity, and a simple acceptance of whatever life tosses their way.

Now, you may recall there is the ancient tale of the archangel Michael bestowing on King Solomon a ring with supernatural powers that included the ability to communicate with animals. When Solomon died, the ring was hidden in “a great house with many doors.” So, in his book, “How to Speak Dog: Mastering the Art of Dog-Human Communication,” author and learned psychologist Stanley Coren writes in earnest,

While I know that this is just a folk tale, … I’ve come to believe wise King Solomon could speak with animals, even without the magical ring, because you and I can also learn to do this. The “magic” in Solomon’s ring is an understanding of how animals communicate, and it is hidden in science, which is the house of many doors. The knowledge that is needed is similar to the knowledge you need to speak any language … specifically what constitutes the “words” in his canine language …”

While there may be skeptics to such a thesis, dog owners that have learned – in this sense -- to be multi-lingual know this to be true. And -- while any good myth is not literally true -- it can nonetheless convey a valid truth that certainly bears retelling.

It is within this heady and concocted notion that I viewed just such a re-telling with the simple story of “Roise and Frank.” While billed as a light-hearted comedy -- that is admittedly thoroughly formulaic with a predictable plotline -- the film nonetheless reminds us of what has always been known and experienced in our relationships with such critters.

So it seems that Roise comes to believe a stray dog is the reincarnation of her late husband, Frank; while her grown son fears his mother has gone crazy in her grief. But, in that prior ancient tale, the wisdom that King Solomon acquires includes a knowledge canines seem to intuitively demonstrate; which has to do with the impermanence of all things.

So it is that in the film’s simple storyline, the intrusion of a strange, shaggy mutt into the life of a human immobilized by grief proves enough to mend a broken heart; sufficient enough to – by this tale’s end – offer up this secret healing power to another mortal being.! jb