Pickle The Short but Joyful Lives of Pets
A couple recounts the various animals they have adopted as pets over the course of their marriage, including a paraplegic possum and a fish that couldn't swim. PICKLE explores the human capacity to care for all creatures throughout their sometimes greatly protracted lives until their occasionally sudden and unfortunate deaths.
Winner of the Audience Award and Special Jury Prize for Best Documentary Short at the Boston International Film Festival. Winner of Best Documentary Short at the Traverse City Film Festival. Official Selection at the Hot Docs Festival.
"Morbidly funny" - A.V. Club
"A thoroughly engaging portrait" - USA Today
Running Time
16 mins
Year
2016
Kanopy ID
5326106
Filmmakers
Languages
Subjects
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Comments (4)
Having grown up on a farm and being all too familiar with the cycle of life, I see far too many of the stories as simply portraying the couple as irresponsible and even lackadaisical in their animal husbandry practices. They may be somewhat sad and may take on some hard cases, but they ...Read more
Having grown up on a farm and being all too familiar with the cycle of life, I see far too many of the stories as simply portraying the couple as irresponsible and even lackadaisical in their animal husbandry practices. They may be somewhat sad and may take on some hard cases, but they habitually fail to learn from the tragedies and correct their environment. The quote “. . . most animals don’t live very long” is most certainly true with this couple! The concept of short lives for animals in the wild and animals raised for meat is most certainly accurate. Truly responsible and proactive pet owners shouldn’t have the same tragedies to tell over and over. The animals are in your charge hence you need to provide them with protection. One death by a predator could be deemed a tragedy. A second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. is neglect. If you have a fox in the area, you fence properly and put the animals in a predator-proof building overnight. If you have flying predators, you install overhead protection. I saw this short as providing justification for poor planning before taking on animal care and lack of corrective responses after tragedies. Definitely do NOT Recommend!
Read lessI just finished watching PICKLES and was captivated, start to finish. The endless stream of death while told matter-of-factly was infused with love, humor and a subtle sadness. I loved the undramatic humanity and liveliness of the unique couple that took in helpless strays, wherever they ...Read more
I just finished watching PICKLES and was captivated, start to finish. The endless stream of death while told matter-of-factly was infused with love, humor and a subtle sadness. I loved the undramatic humanity and liveliness of the unique couple that took in helpless strays, wherever they crossed paths. Recommend!
Read lessThe subject of PICKLE is a morbid one: a couple recount the lives --but especially the deaths-- of their many adopted animals. But this little 15 minute short is packed with laughter and affection. Never dour or excessively mournful, PICKLE reminds us of the often tragic shortness of life ...Read more
The subject of PICKLE is a morbid one: a couple recount the lives --but especially the deaths-- of their many adopted animals. But this little 15 minute short is packed with laughter and affection. Never dour or excessively mournful, PICKLE reminds us of the often tragic shortness of life while also emphasizing our capacity for love. One quote at the end of the film particularly stuck with me: "People think about animals as living forever but most animals don't live very long." It's a sad, stark statement, delivered in a matter of fact way. After all, death is life's one true promise, the single most certain thing. PICKLE teaches us not to fear death, but to instead take the ephemeral lives it gives to us and use them to care for others as much as we can.
Read lessI enjoyed reading your wonderfully descriptive review, Lindsay. Thank you for taking the time share it and help others decide if the subject of PICKLE is something they'd want to experience. I'm looking forward to watching and feel more prepared for the emotional complexity the subject is ...Read more
I enjoyed reading your wonderfully descriptive review, Lindsay. Thank you for taking the time share it and help others decide if the subject of PICKLE is something they'd want to experience. I'm looking forward to watching and feel more prepared for the emotional complexity the subject is likely to stir.
Read less