![]() ![]() When the world of Megasaki City is about to go to pieces, the film beautifully segues back to what is most important, a boy trying to find his best friend - and the friends he makes along the way. If anything, this film aptly lampoons fervid political stances as it can silence voices of reason on both sides of an argument. Reactionary politics have been a thing for a few decades now. At least not in a way that is intentionally meant to echo modern times. While politics do come in into the film, I wouldn't call it political. For what Anderson managed to achieve visually with practical physical objects, it could only have been produced in stop-motion. Every shot has something to look at and absorb. Fox was an especially choice example for comparison - but the world-building that went into this film is staggering. All of his films have featured impressive and detailed production design work - The Fantastic Mr. While perhaps not as irreverently silly, Isle of Dogs is another impressive production of style and substance, design, and hilarity. ![]() ![]() That film was an intricately designed comedy with subtle jokes and hilarious performances from a variety of talented actors that I felt if Anderson never made another movie, it would have been the perfect one to depart on. In all honesty, I didn't know how Anderson could top The Grand Budapest Hotel. I once heard Isle of Dogs described as a "Kurosawa film made by Rankin-Bass" and that's probably the single best way to express what to expect from this film. If you're already on the Wes Anderson bandwagon, you know that no story is as simple as it seems and there is a lot of ground to cover. All you need to know is a boy is trying to find his dog. The above paragraph is about the best I could do to summarize the narrative without giving away too much or withholding important elements that would be relevant to entice someone to check the film out. But thanks to dogs Chief (Bryan Cranston), Rex (Edward Norton), King (Bob Balaban), Boss (Bill Murray), and Duke (Jeff Goldblum), Atari has a chance at being reunited with his best friend. When the mayor's ward Atari (Koyu Rankin) crashes his plane on the island to rescue his dog Spot, he inadvertently triggers a political tidal wave in the city. To prevent its spread to humans, Mayor Kobayashi (Kunichi Nomura) has issued a decree that all dogs will be removed and left on Trash Island. In the near future, the canine flu has spread throughout Megasaki City. Anderson's latest foray into stop-motion animation is a deceptively simple story about a boy trying to find his dog set against a backdrop of reactionary politics. But each of his films is unique tapestries that require the viewer to pay attention to the finest of details to fully enjoy the director's sense of humor. ![]() He may have perfected his orchestrations for delightfully silly plot scenarios. He may use many of the same cast members from one film to the next in roles designed for that actor's style. Wes Anderson is one of the few working American directors who consistently brings something new to the screen. In a world stuffed to the gills with superheroes, sequels, and remakes - it's a grand day when you can step back and take a fresh breath of cinematic air. "Ten centuries ago before the Age of Obedience, free dogs roamed at liberty marking their territory." ![]()
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