A Dog Called Money

A Dog Called Money is much more than a documentary chronicling the recording of an album of songs. For The Hope Six Demolition Project (2016), PJ Harvey allowed members of the public, hidden behind one-way glass, to witness the recording sessions for the album, which took place in a museum. Initially a photojournalist, Seamus Murphy discreetly captures moments of camaraderie and collaboration among the musicians gathered for the occasion, all in service of the singer-songwriter's vision. The documentary alternates these scenes with footage from journeys that inspired the album's songwriting.

Murphy's film illustrates how reality can be a rich source of inspiration for an artist. In Harvey's case, she manages to sublimate this material (composed of concrete experiences, phrases from people she encounters, and music heard) into powerful songs. Following the singer's gaze as she wanders, the film also documents her sensitivity to the world around her. At one point, in a voiceover, she asserts about an elder from a village she encountered: "His face [is] like a map I must study closely." Set between a pre-Trump America driven by great inequality and tensions in Kosovo and Afghanistan, A Dog Called Money brilliantly highlights the British singer's social concerns, expanding beyond the more intimate spheres she had previously explored in her work.

Jean-Philippe Desrochers
Critic