I am a big Wes Anderson fan. So naturally, I had to see Isle of Dogs. It has Anderson's usual whimsy, awkwardness and thoughtful detail in every frame. Unfortunately, I did sense something was missing though, and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, but I’m hoping a second viewing can help with that. Mainly, I think it has to do with being slow at times and not quite as funny as I expected.
Let me go ahead and get what I don’t like about the film out of the way first. One of the biggest issues I have is that he didn't utilize his amazing cast, which was really played up in the trailers. Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton—are all background characters with very few lines. Their group, introduced in the beginning, led me to believe they would have a much bigger role. And though they did have some funny lines, they just didn't bring enough to the film.
I think the slow pace also might be a turn-off for a lot of people—especially the first third of the movie. That's the biggest critique that I've been hearing so far. Personally, I don’t mind slow starts as long as they're used for world and character development and pick up the pace as the story moves along. And in my opinion, that was the case here.
Lastly, I was pretty perplexed by some of the set designs. The story is placed 20 years in the future, but televisions look like they're from the 1960s, complete with black and white screens. There's also a scene where Mayor Kobayashi has a television interview in a room that looks straight out of 1970s America. It has no place in futuristic Japan. I understand that Anderson has a love for American retro, but he could have at least been inspired by something that would make more sense, like retrofuturism. Personally, I would have loved to see how he would blend that with Japanese style.
That aside, I did really enjoy a lot about this movie. As usual, every frame is a work of art: bold, beautifully composed, usually with some form of symmetry and an atmosphere that really immerses you in the world. The stop motion is fantastic (I especially love how when they fight, they turn into giant cotton balls with arms and legs sticking out in all directions). And it’s really interesting that television broadcasts are in 2D, in contrast with the events happening in the real world. Setting the story in Japan also gives Anderson a new palette of artwork, culture and architecture to pull from. He makes whimsical references to Hokusai, and features an amazing triptych painting in the intro that looks like it's probably based on art from the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
Even though there were some characters that I thought were under appreciated, they did do a great job developing the main character, Chief. There's a particular moment (that I won’t spoil for you) that made me tear up, and it’s interesting how the characters don’t dwell too much on it or that Anderson doesn’t force feelings from his audience. He portrays it matter-of-factly and allows you to appreciate its beauty for exactly what it is.
I also thought it was an interesting choice not to translate a good majority of the Japanese dialogue. My guess is that it would make the (mainly American) audience relate more to the dogs, and have the humans feel alien. But as far as things that weren't "foreign", there was an American exchange student and, yes, she was really annoying at times, but I interpreted that as a tongue-in-cheek reference to how the rest of the world sees us. And she did end up playing a pretty important role.
Overall, I really did enjoy the movie, but personally, I wouldn't put this at the very top of my Wes Anderson favorites list. If you're going to see it to get immersed in the retro world, quirky humor and whimsical story, you’ll definitely get your Wes Anderson fix though. So I say give it a watch and see what you think!
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