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| "I bite." |
Summary:
All dogs have been banned from Megasaki, and have been banished to an island of trash off the mainland. An aggressive canine flu has made canines a dangerous proposition. One young boy braves the wilds in a search for his best friend, while courageous people on the mainland attempt to devise a cure for the deadly dog flu.Pros:
Absolutely Gorgeous: This marks Anderson's second stop motion animated feature, after 2009's Fantastic Mr. Fox, and he feels more at home in the medium than ever. The puppets are absolute marvels: each character is specific, exquisitely expressive, and gorgeously rendered. The backgrounds are absolutely, jaw-droppingly beautiful. Anderson really digs into the idea of a trash island, with towering stacks of cubed refuse, kaleidoscopic caves of glass bottles, and abandoned mega factories. Megasaki feels like a real, lived-in place: both inspired by Tokyo, but altogether its own megapolis. In typical Anderson fashion, everything feels like a mish-mash of modernity and the old school: the action splashes across old tube television screens with gloriously retro 60s flair. This movie is a joy to see. Paul Harrod and Adam Stockhausen's art direction is simply wonderful.Pitch Perfect Voice Acting: Wes Anderson's films have a distinct style, and that is reflected in the acting and dialogue, too. He's worked with some real powerhouses, and always gets the correct performances from his actors to serve his scripts. Isle of Dogs is no exception. This thing is littered with A-listers: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Bryan Cranston, and Edward Norton to name just a few. Each actor embraces the deadpan style and matter-of-fact delivery. What's nice is that, because the characters are all stop-motion puppets, you can lose yourself in the story without being distracted by A-list celebrities marching through the frame every second.
Very Little Translation: Anderson does something rather clever by having his Japanese characters speak Japanese, WITH NO SUBTITLES. Occasionally, Frances McDormand's character will translate key speeches into English, presumably for an in-film English speaking audience, but, other than that, the viewer is left to interpret the dialogue largely on tone, emotion and body language. I really appreciated the challenge, there, as it engaged me to do some interpretive work as I watched. He gets away with the Dogs speaking English, because "all barks have been translated into English." Brilliant.
Striking Score: Alexandre Desplat's score is bold and beautiful. The film begins with a team of drummers, beautifully animated, and the score really sets the pace and tone for the run of the film. Desplat embraces the musical tradition of Japan, and lets it permeate the sound throughout. This is one of the few Wes Anderson films not to feature a soundtrack packed with 60s pop tunes. Desplat's score is front and center, and it works.
Composition: Anderson packs his film with amazing shot composition, depth of field, and balance. You can take frames from this movie, and they work like art. Tristan Oliver's photography is nothing short of stunning. Watch how Anderson snap zooms in and out, establishing depth and directional lines using the angles of the dogs' snouts and eye lines. As they turn their heads, the camera follows them, and really guides the viewer's attention.
Detailed Sound Design: This film SOUNDS incredible. As incredible as it looks. Each sound is distinct and unique, and establishes a lush soundscape. Great sound design often goes under-appreciated, and that is a shame. Listen carefully, and marvel at sound design well done.
Cons:
A Little White Savior-y: Look, I like Greta Gerwig, but her character doesn't need to be here, or, if she does, she doesn't need to be American. It's a little insulting to tell a Japanese story, but to undermine it with unnecessary western intervention. And that is emblematic of a serious problem in Hollywood, these days. Go to the IMDB page, and look at the cast list. Of the top 22 actors billed, only seven appear to be of asian descent. THIS IS A MOVIE SET IN JAPAN. So, to review: we have a Japanese story, written and directed by a white dude, starring a majority of white people. It's not that I have a problem with Wes Anderson telling a story that he wants to: I'm genuinely a fan of his movies. I have a problem with Wes Anderson's quaint story about dogs being one of the only major Hollywood features to (barely) feature actors of asian descent. If Hollywood wants to tell Japanese stories, hire Japanese people. But this is Hollywood's problem in just about every area of representation: straight white dudes get to tell everyone's stories. Epic drama about slavery? Let's get a straight white dude. A trying story about what it's like to be female in today's world? Let's tap a straight white dude. A swords-and-sandals epic about Pharoah and Moses? Oh, we have a straight white dude for that, and two straight white dude actors. A sweeping fantasy epic about Egypt's gods and goddesses? I know a (white) guy. I'm a white dude: If I want to see myself on the big screen, I can go to the theater RIGHT NOW and see what it looks like to be a super hero, and action hero, and a romantic lead. And, while I may love watching Tom Cruise do it, I have seen every goddamned iteration of Tom Cruise Running Away From Explosions. But if I were a POC (person of color), where would I look to see representation? Where are those movies? And when we DO get the occasionally non-white movie, why are they nearly always directed by white dudes?Much Ado: The plot is a little dense and complicated for me. I think it could have been more powerful had it been a bit streamlined. At 101 minutes, the film isn't overly long, but it feels like there are plot turns and complications that are unnecessary. The story is full of Anderson whimsy, but lacks something that makes it pop. The story feels very basic. And that is disappointing.
In Conclusion:
I am of two minds on this film: while it is chock full of absolutely stunning visuals, the story is oddly flat. It is not a "bad" film, by any stretch of the imagination, but it lacks the unique pop of Anderson's oeuvre. And then there's the problematic way it deals with its Japanese elements. Outside of its context, the movie is a beautiful, stunning piece of art. But one cannot just pluck it from its context. That is cheap. While the tail end of this review got a little more political than I liked, I felt the need to say what I said. If we do not stand up against cultural appropriation in, ostensibly, innocuous ways, we don't have the moral ground to stand against cultural appropriation when it is done in offensive and mean ways. Just because a director I like made a film doesn't mean that I need to give them a pass. So, ultimately, I am stuck: I am not sure how to feel about this one, even as I publish this review.Should You Watch It?
I am not sure. If you're a Wes Anderson fan, obviously watch this movie. But. I am still struggling with the fact that the movie had an opportunity to shine a light, and give asian actors an opportunity. And, here's the thing: this movie could have cast asian actors (more than it did, and in more major roles). A choice was made. A choice was made to cast a slew of white people. I am just not sure I can sit with that.Miscellany:
- All shots from the dogs' perspective lack the colors red and green, because dogs are colorblind to those colors.
- Jeff Goldblum recorded his lines over the phone, because he could not fly to England due to conflicts.
- There was a team of 670 animators working on this film, shooting 130,000 still frames to construct the animation.
- There was a team of 670 animators working on this film, shooting 130,000 still frames to construct the animation.
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