Gates of Heaven 
Directed by Errol Morris
1978/USA
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime
Mrs. Harberts: Surely at the gates of heaven an all-compassionate God is not going to say, “Well, you’re walking in on two legs, you can go in. You’re walking in four legs, we can’t take you.”
Who knew a documentary about pet cemeteries could be so great? Errol Morris knocks it out of the park with his first film.
There is no narration. We start by being introduced to an animal lover whose dream of creating a beautiful park like pet cemetery was eventually dashed by his refusal to run it on the sound business principals insisted on by his partner. All the pets eventually had to be dug up and moved. We also meet various pet owners with opinions on the matter.
A rendering plant owner discusses an alternative method of disposing of dead animals. The second part of the film is devoted to another pet cemetery and the family that runs it as a business venture. Along the way, we meet many interesting and odd people both from the business side and the pet owner side.
A singing dog
I’ve seen this at least twice previously and it always seems like a different film. It is about so much more than pet cemeteries including: capitalism, dreams, middle America, the afterlife, and people’s relationships with animals. By turns comic and touching, it is one of the great documentaries. The film is available on YouTube. Highly recommended.
Werner Herzog told Errol Morris that he would eat his shoe if Morris could get this film released and was true to his word. He boiled it up in a pot with lots of delicious things.
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