
Good News: Newspaper Salesmen, Dead Dogs and Other People from Vienna
1990

1996
Director
Ulrich Seidl
Runtime
114 minutes
Average Rating
No ratings yetSynopsis
In conurbations where hundreds of thousands live alongside one another, in the era of a highly technological society, in which communication has never played such a significant role, man has become lonely. Disappointed by his fellow human beings, he turns to animals. Dogs and other domestic animals serve him as companions, life partners, cuddly objects and bedfellows.
Overall Score
Fair
Category Breakdown
LGBTQ+ Representation
The film subverts heteronormative tropes by presenting animals as life partners and bedfellows. While it lacks explicit queer character agency, it challenges traditional definitions of intimacy.
Gender Representation
The narrative bypasses traditional gendered power dynamics and hierarchies. It focuses instead on the universal vulnerability and isolation shared by the human species.
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
The film centers on the psychological bond between humans and animals within urban or rural settings. There is no evidence of intentional racial intersectionality or a diverse cast.
Religious & Cultural Diversity
Seidl uses a clinical gaze to critique modern Western social structures and the traditional family unit. The work prioritizes raw reality over religious or moral frameworks.
Disability Representation
There is no information available regarding the depiction of physical or neurodivergent disabilities in this work.
Strengths
Areas for Improvement
AI Analysis
Ulrich Seidl’s documentary offers a clinical, detached examination of human loneliness in a technological age. It succeeds by deconstructing traditional social institutions and the sanctity of human-to-human connection through its unconventional focus on animal companionship. However, the film lacks overt demographic diversity. The focus remains strictly on the psychological state of individuals, leaving little room for explicit representation of race, gendered conflict, or specific queer identities. Ultimately, the film's progressive nature lies in its narrative architecture rather than its casting. It challenges social norms by exploring intimacy through a postmodern, secular lens.

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