22
ISSUE 110 / 2018
FILM
Not that Isle of Dogs doesn't have more
going for it than its charming appearance.
A heart-warming, revolutionary spirit runs
through this socially conscious sci-fi, set
in a dystopian, near-future Japan, where
the country's entire canine population has
been exiled to Trash Island in the wake of a
dog flu virus outbreak.
After a young orphan named Atari (Koyu
Rankin) journeys to the island in the hope
of finding his beloved dog Spots (Liev
Schreiber), five canines voiced by Bryan
Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff
Goldblum and Bob Balaban make it their
mission to reunite the pair.
Throughout a noble odyssey that sees
the film's ragtag team cross paths with a
corrupt mayor, a pack of robot dogs and
an assortment of colourful characters
voiced by famous names (Scarlett
Johansson, Greta Gerwig and Frances
McDormand, to name a few), Isle of Dogs
suggests parallels with some of the darkest
chapters in recent human history, from the
atrocities of the Third Reich to the AIDS
epidemic to the internment of Japanese
Americans during the Second World War –
not to mention the current tensions around
issues of immigration.
Man's inhumanity to man (or, in this
case, dog) is faced down by Anderson's
typical deadpan humour, revealing the
endearingly flawed humanity in his
canine characters as they defy the strict,
dehumanising order imposed on them by a
tyrannical government.
There's enough wit, artistry and
compassion crammed into these 101
minutes to make this one of the most
entertaining flicks of 2018.
'ISLE OF DOGS' IS ONE OF THE
YEAR'S MOST DAZZLING FEATS OF
ANIMATION
The painstaking prettiness of Isle of Dogs is not only the
best argument for checking out Wes Anderson's first
feature-length foray into animation since 2009's Fantastic
Mr Fox.