Ladies and gentleman, I give you my review of Wes Anderson’s latest film, Isle Of Dogs. It’s his second stop-motion flick after Fantastic Mr Fox, and, set in a future dystopian Japan, an authoritarian mayor Kobayashi (Kunichi Nomura) expels all dogs to Trash Island. A kid, Atari (Koyu Rankin), then goes looking for his dog Spots. You shouldn’t expect a traditional search-and-rescue story though..
For one, you get a typically wide-ranging Anderson cast, supplying more than enough personality (mostly voicing dogs it should be said, Bryan Cranston a particular stand out as Chief) as a whole.
However, as Isle Of Dogs becomes more involved with Trash Island, the pacing can stutter. We could pin this on Anderson’s usual tightrope walk of pathos and dry humour, given it can’t be so easy to always manage. Thankfully though it finds its feet again as we move along, and additional characters pop up (Greta Gerwig especially excelling as the foreign exchange student Tracy Walker).
What’s more, some have accused this film of not being culturally sensitive towards Japan. I don’t know lots about them, so I can’t ultimately judge. Diving in though, there doesn’t seem to be anything you might outright judge as insensitive aside from the mayor Kobayashi, so that’s something.
Definitely recommend you try this film though. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but serves a great alternative dish to usual.
Mad About Movies 