I was thinking about what Dr. Campbell said about Errol Morris and his films, how he referred to them not as documentaries, but as non-fiction feature films. Now, I don’t know the exact description of a documentary, but I think we can all safely assume that they are real life events filmed exactly how they naturally occur in real life, peppered sometimes by interviews, and are more often than not rather boring. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the History, Animal, and Discovery Channel as much as the next guy, but there is a point when you feel rather inundated by history, and bored to tears by the monotone voice over man that I’m convinced is the same man who used to give lengthy speeches ay my Grandpa’s Elk’s Lodge…  Errol Morris, doesn’t film documentaries. He is in a class all his own. I agree when he says that his films are “non-fiction full length feature films.”

My first hint that this was way more than a documentary? The opening credits. As the credits begin to roll I thought I could hear birds, but it was way to fait to tell. I strained my ears trying to hear them, then suddenly the Sound Mixer’s name appeared on the screen and I could hear the birds and other outside noises loud and clear. Coincidence? I think not. Errol Morris obviously was meticulous about the way he filmed and edited his film. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like a documentary was trying to tell me something other than the obvious message of the film. I do feel like Errol Morris is trying to tell us something more important than this, rather simple, story of a pet cemetery. When you think about it, this film could have been so much shorter. It is, in fact, a really simple story. Guy starts pet cemetery, cemetery goes bust, they move pets to new cemetery, and cemetery flourishes. End of story. Not the case with Mr. Errol Morris.

I agree with Dr. Campbell, I now need to watch this film about ten times over, to get what it is trying to day to me.