Everyone who grew up with pets knows that they can teach us a lot about life. If we pay close attention, we see that the way we look at them often reflects our own inner demons, beliefs, and insecurities. Pets also show us what loyalty looks like in its purest form. At the same time, they can reveal how easily we grow overly attached, or where our ability to connect with others starts to falter.

Movies often reflect this idea, sometimes in clear ways and sometimes more subtly. In Miss Moxy (2025), for example, cats show us that friendship and loyalty matter more than social status, and in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022), the animals remind us to appreciate and value the one life we have.

The same concept lies at the heart of the Belgian ensemble film Life’s a Bitch (original title: Chiennes de vies), a pitch-black comedy told in three segments. The film is as sharp as it is funny, and it uses dogs as allegorical figures to explore the complexities of human psychology. Each part focuses on a different theme: fear and self-loathing, obsession and control, compromise and loyalty—and each segment comes with a different lesson.

Lesson #1: You must face your inner demons instead of projecting them onto others, and learn to accept the love you think you don’t deserve.

The first segment, “Mezcal,” follows Tom (Jean-Jacques Rausin), a lonely man who believes he doesn’t deserve love.

When he takes in a chihuahua, he convinces himself the dog is evil and responsible for its former owner’s death. In reality, the dog reflects Tom’s own fears and self-hatred. Mezcal teaches us that sometimes the monsters we fear are simply our own insecurities, and that accepting love can feel scarier than rejecting it.

Lesson #2: No one—not even the most devoted dog—can heal your emotional emptiness if you refuse to change yourself.

The second segment, “Sophie,” centers on Greta (Aurora Marion), a wealthy celebrity who adores her dog but treats people poorly. After Sophie dies, Greta tries to replace her and even attempts to turn her assistant into a substitute for the dog. She believes a dog’s joy and devotion can heal her emptiness, but her dependence leads to tragic consequences.

Sophie’s story shows that animals cannot fix our emotional wounds for us, and that we must confront our own lack of empathy and humanity.

Lesson #3: True loyalty means standing by those who love you unconditionally, even when it costs you something.

The third segment, “Perdita,” tells the story of Franck (Arieh Worthalter), a man devoted to his dog, who begins a relationship with a woman who demands he choose between her and the animal. As he distances himself from his pet, he grows increasingly miserable. When the dog falls ill, Franck must decide where his loyalty truly lies.

Perdita teaches us that love without conditions is rare and precious, and that abandoning those who depend on us can cost us more than we expect.

As director Xavier Seron himself puts it: “Even though the tone shifts from one segment to another, the film keeps circling back to the same uncomfortable truth: humans struggle to live in harmony—with others and with themselves. Animals, by contrast, seem to possess a clarity and honesty that we often lack.”

About the Author

Vanessa Morgan is the editor of the movie reference guides When Animals Attack: The 70 Best Horror Movies with Killer Animals, Strange Blood: 71 Essays on Offbeat and Underrated Vampire Movies, Evil Seeds: The Ultimate Movie Guide to Villainous Children, and Meow! Cats in Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy Movies.

She also published one cat memoir (Avalon) and four supernatural thrillers (Drowned Sorrow, The Strangers Outside, A Good Man, and Clowders). Three of her stories became movies. She introduces movie screenings at several European cinemas and film festivals and is also a programmer for the Offscreen Film Festival in Brussels. More recently, she has started The Cat Movie Archive so she can talk in-depth about every single cat movie ever made.

When she's not writing, you will probably find her eating out, reading, doing yoga, or taking photos of cats. Get updates about new animal-related movies by subscribing to her newsletter https://gmail.us15.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=c47ba3cd95826f6148e3cc4ca&id=16d84cd0cf.

You can find Vanessa's books on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/stores/Vanessa-Morgan/author/B0092GUO2M .