Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight (dir. Embeth Davidtz)

By: Adam Freed

Bobo Fuller is far from being the average 8 year old.  The forgivably narrow perspective of the white Rhodesian girl is shaped by the feral existence that is the rule, rather than the exception of the children raised in Southeastern Africa during the tumultuous Bush War.  The early 1980’s marked a major turning point in the white minority ruled nation, as Rhodesia’s first democratic election passed control to a socialist regime as well as transferring the nation’s demarcation to modern Zimbabwe.  Under the umbrella of this political unrest, Bobo’s family, headed by family matriarch Nicola, played by director Embeth Davidtz (Schindler’s List, Old) is uprooted and thrown into turmoil.  Davidtz, as a director, carefully crafts a visual landscape that captures the rustic allure of Africa’s plains, while planting the seeds of the pending revolution living just beyond the hazy horizon. It is abundantly clear that although Bobo and her family centralize the film’s action, they are no heroes.  Rather, they and a small collection of local white landowners are viewed as colonizers by their house staff and the rest of the native Rhodesians who inhabit the land.  This political and moral tightrope marks the epicenter of conflict in Embeth Davidtz’s confoundingly titled Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight.  

There is no doubt that the political upheaval of that time was draining, regardless of the political side on which one may have fallen. However, with the gift of hindsight, pitying Bobo’s privileged plight feels impossible.  Although it was never the film’s intent to do so, using the flawed young protagonist to expand understanding of the transitional time in African history may present as being somewhat uncomfortable for audiences.  The immaturity and lack of awareness that Bobo and her mother demonstrate, feel forgivable for the young girl, given her age, but reprehensible and selfish from her mother.  Adding to the confoundingly expansive list of conflicts present within Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight is Nicola’s alcohol dependency and rapidly depreciating mental health.  While these are realistic hardships, given the turmoil of the day, neither work to benefit the narrative of Davidtz's film.  Political upheaval is incredibly complicated, as are the emotions of an 8 year old girl, and yet the film feels overstuffed to layer even more atop a script that would still be enough with a more streamlined conflict.  

There is plenty to appreciate in director Embeth Davidtz’s Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, but, like components of a meal that are independently delicious, more doesn’t always result in better.  The Rhodesian transition into becoming Zimbabwe marked a monumental shift in the continent's history, it also offered a tectonic shift in the role that white colonization played in Sub-Saharan Africa.  Allowing this story to be told through the eyes of a curious and somewhat naughty 8 year-old is a bold and interesting vessel through which to share the conflict.  While the film may not be memorable, there is a wonderful cautionary tale within Bobo’s character, sure to prompt audiences raising young children to take notice. 

Target Score: 5.5/10 - Visually immersive and bolstered by a dangerously precarious political upheaval, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight ultimately weighs itself down in an attempt to add too many conflicts to a film that was better off being left to revel in the weight of its simplicity.

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight is included in Movie Archer's coverage of the 2025 Chicago Critics Film Festival.