‘Isle of Dogs’ – Review
If you’re wanting to indulge your artistic side then I highly recommend you check out Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs. Because as well as being peak Anderson, this film features some incredible detail and is a genuine artistic triumph.
When, by executive decree, all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to a vast garbage-dump called Trash Island, 12-year-old Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo Prop and flies across the river in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. There, with the assistance of a pack of newly-found mongrel friends, he begins an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture.
While I can honestly say that I’m fairly new to Wes Anderson’s work I must say that I was extremely impressed by what this auteur filmmaker achieves with his latest project.
Bringing together narrative, style and an astonishing ambience, Isle of Dogs is literally unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Completely conjured from his own mind Anderson has packed out Isle of Dogs with plenty of eccentricities and an equal amount of heart. While he dresses it up with lots of exaggeration at its core this is a film that is about the love between a boy and his dog. I myself have had my own canine best friend and I understand just what it means to be a dog owner and how Anderson chronicles the loyalty of both Atari and Spots to one another really left an impression on me.
While Anderson might be handling the direction of this ambitious project its success is truly down to its collective voice cast. Literally leading the pack is the fabulous Bryan Cranston who portrays alpha dog and stray Chief and he provides a great centre point for the audience to follow as Atari and the rest of the dogs search for Spots on Trash Island. Joining Cranston are the likes of Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johannson, Greta Gerwig, Harvey Keitel and Jeff Goldblum and all bring their superb vocal talents to the table.
But this film truly stands out to how remarkable it is by the way that it is constructed and the meticulous detail that the animators get into the clay models that have been created to tell this story. The expressions and movements that they get out of the animated models are pretty incredible and whats more everything has been created in line with stop-motion animation. And I mean everything. Characters, landscapes, props, even special effects. All of it is the result of a fantastic artist at work and it’s pretty incredible to watch. The influence of Japanese culture is also juxtaposed with Anderson’s trademark sepia tone and it produces some very interesting visuals.
If you’re looking for a true cinema experience to really make you sit up and go WOW, well then you’ll find it in Isle of Dogs. This is auteur filmmaking at its highest quality and it certainly leaves an impression. All dogs lovers should watch this movie ASAP.
Image: 20th Century Fox
