IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB () review
Los Angeles Times (W. Anderson) review
RogerEbert.com (Odie Henderson) review
AVClub (A.A. Dowd) review
Isle of Dogs [2018] (directed and screenplay and story cowritten by Wes Anderson along with Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman and Kunichi Nomura) is a film that's not going to be for everybody. If one's already seen (and liked) some of Wes Anderson's films from The Royal Tanenbaums [2001] through to the Grand Budapest Hotel [2014], then one will probably enjoy this movie.
However, the story's approach to prejudice / bigotry, the parable (or fable)'s theme, will disconcert a fair amount of Wes Anderson's otherwise fans: The story presumably condemns said random (and cruel) prejudice / bigotry (here against "dogs") BUT ... if I were part of a persecuted or otherwise historically looked-down-upon group in society, I'm _pretty sure_ I wouldn't be comfortable with being cast as "a dog" in the story no matter what PETA may insist or say.
So there it is: The story, set in contemporary Japan, is about a random corner of the island nation, in Megasaki Prefecture (Japan is divided up politically into several dozen such Prefectures), in which two shogun families have been battling for dominance for centuries. One of these, the Kobayashi family, has harbored an again centuries-long irrational hatred of dogs (and an amusing, equally irrational fawning love of ... cats ;-).
By ancient tradition, recalled even to this day in haikus and traditional operas and plays, Megasaki Province's dogs were saved as a result of a "Boy Samurai" who rose-up to champion the dogs' "Here's a good dog, you're such a good dog" cause and put the evil Kobayashi clan in its place.
BUT ... after _centuries_ of plotting quietly -- behind cute, fuzzy cat draped heraldic banners -- the Kobayashi clan has returned, with the election of one of its own as Mayor (voiced by Konichi Nomura). Near the beginning of the film, the Mayor gives a rousing Fascist-like speech vowing to rid the Prefecture of its "bad dog" menace, noting that city's dogs were known to be carriers of a random if menacingly sounding illness called "Dog flu" an illness that NEVER (yet?) jumped the species barrier to humans BUT ... if it did, well, it COULD BE ... bad.
At the end of his speech, Mayor Kobayashi, eyes rolling, notes that "thanks to the democratic imposed-upon-us Constitution" he has to give "the other side" a chance to speak, and so he calls a quiet/introverted, out-of-his-element "scientist" to the podium, one who's been working on "a cure" for the as yet never to have actually infected anybody "dog flu" to speak on the dogs' defense. The poor scientist, Prof. Watanabe (voiced by Akria Ito) in a quivering voice simply notes that: "Not all dogs are BAD dogs, some are GOOD DOGs" and ... is pelted with eggs, tomatoes and ... rocks, by the mayor's assembled crowd. Hmmm... what does that seem like?
So ... "The People" "by popular acclaim" give the Mayor power to deport / dump all of the Prefecture's dogs to a distant island, where its trash was taken, and the Mayor ... a picture or banner of _a cute fuzzy cat_ present as a backdrop at much every location where he appears ... has _his scientists_ secretly work on a means of simply _killing_ (exterminating) the city's remaining dogs exiled to that distant trash heap. Hmmm ... again, what does that seem like?
Much ensues ... and quite obviously (not much of a spoiler alert) the dogs do "get their day."
Okay, I get what the story's trying to say (I think) BUT ... if I were either Jewish, Mexican or even Muslim (is Trash Island, basically a version of Guantanamo in addition to being the Warsaw Ghetto / Auschwitz?) I'm not sure I'd exactly want to applaud a movie that would compare me to a dog, perhaps "a cute, yes, what a good dog" but a dog NEEDING A MASTER nonetheless...
Sigh ...
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