The Mongreloid (1978) User Reviews

It's for dog-lovers

[woody-106 · 7/10 · 15 October 1999]

George Kuchar is clearly a very strange man. But his dog is pretty laid-back.

This is little more than some home-movie reminiscing with some amusing and well-placed sounds effects, but the Super-8 stock looks lovely (vibrant technicolor - like a cheapo Douglas Sirk) and you can't help but warm to this madman and his mutt.

Maybe it's a little too long, but it's not very long. And the man-canine bonding is strangely touching.

A legendary film maker and his dog

[georgeeliot · 10/10 · 28 July 2001]

Actually, the title is Mongreloid. A nice look at George and his dog Bocko. Bocko starred in several of George's films and here is seen cavorting outdoors with the film maker Curt McDowell. He is also seen indoors with George. George shows Bocko some of the outdoor footage and comments on it, reminding him of the places they had visited. A wonderful film in beautiful color.

love story with dogs? that's too much for me

[mrdonleone · 3/10 · 13 November 2009]

'The Mongreloid' is just an stupid picture about a man having wild fantasies about his dog while he talks with his dog about memories of the dog. since all Kuchar films are about sexuality, the following question arises: does Kuchar mean anything sexual with this picture? is he trying to say that real love for a dog (expressed with the music of the film 'Love Story') is as impossible as real love between men? only then, this picture makes any sense. all the other explanations are not valuable, because we see images of the dog mixed with love music, in a city, dressed as memories... yeah, right, this picture is dirty (and I'm not kidding)! we see the dog in a snowy landscape, close to the sea, playing with a stick, not very far away from a church, ... but what does it really mean? again, this is not the question you should be asking yourself while watching this, because you will come to conclusions that will scare you to death (or almost to death, since you are reading this). all things will come to this one important question: does Kuchar love dogs, and if he does, in what way, and if he doesn't, why did he make this movie? I don't get it at all, maybe I'm totally wrong with my interpretation, but I'm used to the hidden homosexual messages in his films. confessions about a love story with dogs, that's just a bit too much for me. or do I have to enjoy this picture without seeking messages? maybe Kuchar had just a bad day when he made 'The Mongreloid', we will never know.

only mildly amusing

[framptonhollis · 5/10 · 22 April 2018]

There are some really likable and overall great elements at play here, but, all in all, 'The Mongreloid' isn't really anything resembling something "special." The director of it, George Kuchar, has grown to become an odd favourite of mine, despite the low technical quality of his films (it's actually kind of part of "the charm" in some cases), and this is, without a doubt, my least favourite of his films that I have thus far seen. Again, I will admit to there being various positives to it. There are some very humorous details/moments (although I will say that I think the movie thinks that it is funnier than it actually is), and insertion of the soundtrack was especially surreally comical and amusing, and, in general, I just love the stylistic qualities of classic underground experimental cinema in general, so naturally I found the overall atmosphere to be pretty enjoyable, and I will put on top of that that it is a pretty well made, well put together piece despite the fact that it comes across as being no more than an absurd home movie. So, if you're a big enough fan of George Kuchar's work, or are at least intrigued by his rather strange, but likable persona, I would recommend you check this out, if only as a kind of curio. It is only eight minutes regardless, so I advise you all to just watch it and have a blast, or don't if you really don't like it or find to be just okay like I did.

Home Movie or Dog Movie

[Michael_Elliott · 28 September 2016]

The Mongreloid (1978)

** (out of 4)

Here's yet another bizarre film from the bizarre filmmaker George Kuchar. This here is basically a love story to his dog as we see home movies, which is all footage of the dog while Kuchar narrates and tells stories. There's certainly nothing awful about this over-long home movie but at the same time there's really nothing good here either. I guess if you're a fan of Kuchar's work you'll enjoy his nutty behavior as he talks to his dog and then answers back to himself as the dog. I will admit that seeing Kuchar do his thing was rather funny but there's still no doubt that this is more of a home movie than anything else.