Isle of Dogs

Movie, 2018, PG-13

Premise: As a part of a large government conspiracy against dogs, all dogs are sent off the city of Megasaki onto an island of trash, which comes to be known as the Isle of Dogs. The government claims this is to prevent the spread of the Dog Flu, a virus that causes dogs to become much less attainable as pets, and to keep dogs from overpopulating the city. The Little Pilot is the only dog master who bravely travels to the Isle of Dogs to rescue his dog Spots. Meanwhile, a group of young, pro-dog students attempts to uncover the truth about the innocent animals.


Review: Prior to this film, I had only seen one Wes Anderson film (The Grand Budapest Hotel) and absolutely loved it. Therefore, I came into this film with high expectations. I know the style he is most famous for - Everything is shot at 90 degree angles, either straight on or directly from the side. Moreover, his shots are incredibly symmetrical, and anytime a there is something noticeably out of symmetry, it moves through the shot to draw our eyes. It's incredibly unique, stylistic, and difficult to maintain. However, it also carries a purpose. What was great in The Grand Budapest Hotel was how well this style fit in thematically into the facade of Viennese culture. 20th century Austria was all about maintaining a proper image to distract from the decaying society underneath. I was curious to see how well Wes Anderson's style would play into the themes of this story, and it did not disappoint. This time, the cultural focus was on Japan, which is known for maintaining strict order. The clean-cut style of this film accentuated the perfection that Japanese culture strives to achieve, while also being aesthetically entertaining.

As far as plot, I found the story enjoyable. I love animals and, moreover, I love empathizing with animals. The only thing that deterred me from the film was the number of plot holes, loose ends, and narrative inconsistencies. Edward Norton's dog (I forget his name) starts out as one of the main narrators... then what happens to his dog? Was he even shown at the end? About 2/3 of the way through the movie, him and all of his dog friends just seemingly drop off from the story. Also, how did the other dog Sport accidentally get locked in Spots' cage, and how did he cage get back to the exact same spot? Why did Tracy get to bring her dog Nutmeg over from the states? Or did she buy the dog here? And why would she buy a dog here if she was only studying abroad? Especially an advanced show dog? There are more weird little loose ends, believe me, and it kept bothering me more than it should.

The only criticism for this film that I have read and saw coming ahead of time was the idea of cultural appropriation. I did not get that sense from the film, as many characters spoke in their native tongue (there was a LOT of Japanese in the film), with Japanese actors, and a real aesthetic appreciation for Japanese culture. If white people were only allowed to make films about white people, wouldn't that be an even worse problem? The only thing that really was off-putting was that Tracy's character, the student hero, had to be the one white kid in the class. That stood out to me as a little unappreciative of all of the other students (82/100).

What to watch for: I really should just change this category to "what to listen for" because so much of what draws me to movies is music and sound design. This film had the genius Alexandre Desplat compose its music. I swear, every time I think to myself, "wow this film has really good music," and get to the credits, it's always Alexandre Desplat.

If you liked this movie, I'd recommend The Grand Budapest Hotel!

Directed by Wes Anderson
Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures