Good Boy Banjo

The scouts

Existential advice from a dog as the vehicle for teenage angst — Vimeo page is 404'd which doesn't help my interest, and 'Aftersun comparisons' for a talking-dog premise feels like a stretch. Dubious without seeing.

Asian-American small-town adolescence with a talking dog as existential interlocutor sounds like Sean Wang's Dìdi crossed with a gentler Charlie Kaufman move. The Vimeo page is missing, which I'll flag but not let weigh too heavily against the premise.

Shirley Chen is a serious lead, and a conversation with a dog as the vehicle for existential crisis is the kind of premise that needs the visual language to shift when the connection deepens — metadata claims it does. Page didn't load (Vimeo 404), so I'm reading on trust.

Reviews

While Amy and her situation are specific, what Zhou taps into is deeply universal — a feeling of being overwhelmed by the state of the world and the pressure to make the best possible personal choices.

A surprisingly effective slice-of-life drama that depicts a highly relatable existential crisis, led by a poignant lead performance.

Festivals

• New/Next Film Festival 2024
• Palm Springs International ShortFest 2024
• Dallas International Film Festival 2024