Better a dog than decadent humans
French screen icon Brigitte Bardot wrote a tender yet ironic letter to Milou, a Belgian fox terrier, sharing her illness, her love for animals, and her disillusionment with humans, a rare and funny glimpse into her reclusive activist life.
In 1984, in the sunlit quiet of “La Madrague” in Saint-Tropez, Brigitte Bardot took up her pen… to write to a dog. Milou, a Belgian fox terrier, received a handwritten letter in which the former screen icon confided, with warmth and complicity, that she was suffering from a severe kidney colic and felt far too tired to welcome his owners, who had written to her. The medical excuse quickly gave way to an affectionate declaration:
It’s better for you, adorable Milou, worse for us, poor decadent human beings. But there will be other opportunities, and my friendship, that, is not ill! Love each other dearly, I send you a kiss. Brigitte.
In these few lines, Bardot is entirely herself: her unconditional love for animals and her disenchanted view of humanity. Since 1973, when she left the film sets behind, she has lived in seclusion, devoting her life to the defense of animals.
While history remembers Bardot above all as the French feminine icon of the 1950s and 1960s - star of 48 films and performer of over 80 songs - this document reveals another side of her: that of a passionate activist, capable of addressing a dog as an equal. A whole philosophy of life.
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