*Eat Pray Bark* is a new, upbeat German comedy streaming on Netflix that revolves around dogs—as its title suggests. In particular, it explores the idea that mischievous dogs are, at heart, misunderstood creatures deserving of greater patience and understanding. The plot centers on four ill-behaved dogs and their owners, who embark on a journey to the Tyrolean mountains to attend an intensive training workshop led by a legendary canine trainer named Nodon. Broadly speaking, *Eat Pray Bark* makes for an excellent choice for dog owners and pet lovers; however, its heavy reliance on unconvincing comedy—rather than opting for a more sentimental approach—proves somewhat perplexing.
*Eat Pray Bark* opens in a major German metropolis, where Ursula Brandmeier, a European Union minister, struggles mightily to control her dog, Brenda. Although Ursula spends most of her time listening to audiobooks extolling the virtues of dogs as companions—and offering tips on how to understand and train them—the truth is that she deeply loathes Brenda, whom she adopted from a shelter just days earlier. The dog constantly pesters her while she attempts to work and, to make matters worse, runs off with the clothes Ursula was packing into a suitcase, driving the woman to even greater frustration.
Director: Marco Petry
Writers: Jane Ainscough, Marco Petry, Hortense Ullrich
Stars: Alexandra Maria Lara, Devid Striesow, Anna Herrmann
Elsewhere in the city, a young woman named Babs faces similar difficulties with her beloved dog, Torsten, just as the pair steps out of their apartment to explore the streets. Torsten is, quite simply, too large for Babs to handle, and her polite, gentle nature proves utterly insufficient to keep the animal in check. As a result of these complications, Babs and Torsten frequently find themselves on the receiving end of disrespectful behavior—such as the time an Uber driver nearly kicked them out of his vehicle, flatly refusing to allow any animals inside his car.
At a train station in Germany, a couple—Helmut and Ziggy—is also grappling with issues involving their dog, Gaga, who harbors a total aversion to Helmut. Since Gaga originally belonged to Ziggy, it is evident that the dog has not taken kindly to his "human dad's" new husband; for his part, Helmut feels equally bewildered and at a loss as to how to handle the fact that the animal constantly tries to bite him and lunge at him. It is precisely at this station that the couple crosses paths with a man sporting a most intense gaze. As becomes apparent shortly thereafter, this man—Hakan—faces problems similar to those of the other characters, as he, too, seems unable to control his dog, Roxy.
As it turns out, these five individuals are all heading to the same destination in the Tyrolean mountains of Austria, with a shared purpose in mind. A highly respected and experienced dog trainer named Nodon is conducting a three-day workshop at a local mountain inn—specifically geared toward unruly and ill-mannered dogs—to teach their owners how to train them. As Ursula, Babs, Helmut, Ziggy, and Hakan begin participating in the workshop, most of them cannot shake the feeling that it is overly pretentious—bordering on a scam—until they begin to learn some truly valuable lessons about raising pets.
The very reason Ursula Brandmeier currently has a dog—Brenda—in her care stems from the fact that, in reality, she loathes dogs and never would have imagined owning one as a pet. During a recent interview on a news program, Ursula had spoken positively about pet-related policies, aligning herself with her political party's stance on the matter. However, believing the cameras had stopped rolling, Ursula confessed to the host that she absolutely detests dogs and does not consider a person whose sole companion is a canine to be "normal." What neither she nor the show’s host realized was that the cameras had failed to stop rolling due to a technical glitch; this meant that Ursula’s highly controversial opinion was broadcast live on television. Shortly thereafter, her political party sidelined her, and she began receiving a wave of hate from dog lovers across the country. Acting on the advice of her strategist, she was compelled to adopt a dog from a local shelter, in the hope that this maneuver would serve to salvage her public image.
For most of the film, Ursula completely ignores Brenda and appears to have not the slightest interest in understanding the animal. To keep her scandal a secret from the others, she uses a false name and tells them that Brenda is, in reality, the pet of a friend who could not attend the workshop due to a disability. When Nodon speaks about the need to be firm and decisive when giving commands to a dog, Ursula is baffled by the fact that her dog pays her no heed—given that she always presents herself as very resolute and is, in fact, known for being a strong-willed leader. What she fails to realize is that she makes no attempt to forge an emotional bond with the animal—despite Brenda’s tireless efforts—and that she never shows the dog any compassion whatsoever.
Eventually, she receives news that her political party has replaced her with another candidate—despite all her attempts to rehabilitate her image—which leads her to suffer a nervous breakdown. It is then that she realizes, for the first time, that Brenda loves her and wants to cheer her up at every moment, completely overlooking all the times Ursula had tried to drive her away. At this point, Ursula begins to accept that Brenda—and other dogs—can indeed be good companions; however, her opinion changes radically after she is involved in an accident in which she is swept away by a mudslide. It is Brenda who manages to locate her and remains by Ursula’s side, barking to alert others to her whereabouts. In this way, Ursula finally learns her lesson and decides to keep Brenda forever, now that she no longer works for any political party.
The greatest challenge Babs faces is her inability to give commands or exert control over Torsten—who is, quite literally, the one pulling *her* from the other end of the leash—a difficulty rooted in her own personality. Over time, Babs reveals that she has struggled with severe mental health issues throughout her life—problems that even led to her being institutionalized in a psychiatric facility a few years earlier. Drawing from these bitter experiences, she had learned and accepted that people did not enjoy her company and tried to avoid her at all costs. A doctor suggested she get a dog for companionship, given that she was completely alone in the world; and, after adopting Torsten, Babs experienced a genuinely positive transformation within herself. She was once again able to attend social events and be surrounded by other people—something she had previously stopped doing entirely due to her social awkwardness.
But the reality is that Torsten is an extremely ill-mannered dog—a fact that currently causes Babs even more problems. Worse still is the fact that the authorities have ruled that Torsten must pass a specific test to prove he poses no safety risk to other citizens. The last few times Babs took Torsten to take the test, he failed miserably, meaning they have only one attempt left. If the dog fails the test again, the authorities will forcibly take him away from Babs, and she will be deemed unfit to own a pet. *Eat Pray Bark* focuses extensively on how dogs mirror the emotions and behaviors of their human owners, and how, in most cases, it is the human who needs to learn how to interact with the dog—not the other way around.
Consequently, Babs's struggles are analyzed, and Nodon quickly determines that Torsten behaves so poorly solely because his owner is incapable of giving him commands correctly. The truth is that Babs fears Torsten will abandon her as well—just as every other human being in her life has done. In fact, this is also the reason she approves of everything Nodon does: she is desperate to be liked by anyone, whether human or animal. Hence, she harbors a genuine fear of being strict or stern with the dog, worrying that he might take offense at her behavior and stop loving her—or, worse yet, leave her side. She makes the mistake of treating Torsten as if he were a human companion, overlooking the fact that a dog always needs to receive commands from its owner in order to be properly trained. Once Babs grasps this and incorporates confidence into her actions, Torsten obeys all her commands and behaves wonderfully in the presence of other people.
Next, it is revealed that the gay couple, Helmut and Ziggy, has been creating problems of their own, given that their dog, Gaga, is simply caught in the middle of their egos. Ziggy is the one who owned Gaga before they got married; consequently, he secretly feels jealous at the prospect of Helmut also bonding with the dog, fearing he might be forced to share Gaga with his husband.
On one hand, Ziggy’s ego prevents her from allowing her husband to bond with her dog; on the other, Helmut’s ego makes him suspicious of the way Ziggy has launched her new candle business—a venture that will, from now on, generate enough income for her to be financially independent. Consequently, he fears that Ziggy will soon leave him. Eventually, the couple is forced to have a serious conversation when Nodon and the others suggest that they should separate. The moment their love is called into question, Helmut and Ziggy become defensive and begin to act as a united front, briefly viewing anyone outside their relationship as an enemy. This immediately helps them get back on track as a couple, and their issues regarding Gaga are also resolved with ease.
Finally, Hakan remains largely aloof throughout the three-day workshop, often appearing rude and indifferent toward the other participants and their pets. More importantly, he acts with extreme strictness and emotional detachment toward his own dog, Roxy, claiming that he only brought her to the workshop because his wife forced him to do so. Over time, Hakan reveals the source of his indifference toward the dog, as well as the reason he keeps Roxy muzzled at all times—except during meals—despite the fact that she has never bitten anyone. Hakan is a police officer by profession; when his younger brother, Emre, was looking for a large, strong dog to accompany him during his shifts as a security guard, Hakan gave him Roxy, who had just retired from K-9 service.
However, when criminals attacked the business Emre was guarding and he attempted to defend himself, Roxy became terrified and cowered in a corner while the attackers killed Emre. It is precisely for this reason that Hakan continues to detest Roxy, as he holds her responsible for the death of his beloved brother. Furthermore, he keeps Roxy muzzled at all times to punish her for the grave error she has, in his judgment, committed. However, toward the end of the workshop, Hakan comes to the conclusion that Roxy is a very brave dog who deserves a second chance, as she is the one who manages to track Ursula’s scent after the latter was swept away by a mudslide. While Ursula’s pet, Brenda, barked incessantly toward the spot where she had landed, it was Roxy who guided the rest of the group there so they could rescue her. Consequently, Hakan finally decides to remove Roxy’s muzzle and forgive her genuine mistake, showing her affection for the very first time.
Meanwhile, the veteran dog trainer, Nodon, has been harboring a serious secret: his entire identity is a fabrication. Nodon—whose real name is Simon—turns out to be the son of the elderly woman who runs the Reisinger Inn, the venue where the dog training workshop is being held. A few years earlier, the inn was suffering from a severe lack of tourism, as quite simply, no one was visiting that particular region of the Tyrolean mountains. The scarcity of customers led the owners to consider permanently closing the establishment—a move that would have spelled financial ruin for the Reisinger family. In an effort to save the family business, Simon devised a unique plan to attract a large influx of tourists to the area while simultaneously leveraging his true talent as an exceptional dog trainer.
However, he knew that people would neither take an interest in him—nor place their trust in him—if he presented himself exactly as he was. Therefore, he concocted elaborate and outlandish stories, claiming to be of Celtic descent and to have abandoned civilization to live in the wild alongside a pack of wolves. He employs a fake beard and makeup to lend credibility to his eccentric tale; it is the only way to convince these people—who prove to be, in fact, superficial and prone to being swayed by outward appearances. After uncovering Nodon's secret, the workshop attendees—especially Ursula—remain steadfast in their resolve to expose him to the world and put an end to the scam that he and his mother are perpetrating.
However, certain events eventually lead them to change their minds; for starters, the fact that Nodon—or Simon—is not, in reality, a bad person, and that he assumes full responsibility when the attendees find themselves in distress in the mountains. Although no one could have blamed him had he not come to their aid, Simon scaled the mountain in terrible weather conditions to rescue Ursula, given that the others lacked the necessary resources to do so. And even more importantly: Simon proved himself to be a truly competent dog trainer, managing to help everyone and even succeeding in bringing about positive changes in the humans, fostering friendships among them. Thus, two months after the events at the Reisinger Inn, Ursula, Babs, Helmut, Ziggy, and Hakan reunite.
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