The story is set in Nagasaki, Japan. Most of the human characters are Japanese, and they all speak Japanese. Usually in American films, non-English dialogue is subtitled in English, or simply has everyone speak English, but Anderson deliberately kept Japanese, and with the exception of a few key messages, the character was translated by the news (dubbed "Three Billboards" The heroine, Frances McDormand) speaks it in English, with no translation for most of the Japanese. And all the dog's dialogue is in English. The director's intention is to let the audience see the story from the dog's point of view. It doesn't matter what humans say.
So we look at the story of the dog owner's return to the top through the lens of Wes Anderson.
At the beginning of the film, a ukiyo-e-style animation tells the history of dog owners domesticating humans as shit shovel officers (mistakes) in this land, and the exclusion of dog owners by the Kobayashi family controlled by cats. In the near future, due to an outbreak of a deadly canine flu, the mayor of Nagasaki, Kobayashi, ordered all dog owners to be banished to an isolated island of garbage, hence the title "Canis Island".
Several protagonists of the film are dogs with canine flu, symptoms include thinness and sneezing, and they live in a garbage dump. They are all dirty and injured, and the whole picture is even tinted. decadent and desolate. Among them, Rex (voiced by Edward Norton), Boss (formerly the mascot of the Chicago Cubs, and the voice of Bill Murray is a Cubs fan), Duke (voiced by Jeff Goldblum), King (Bob Murray) Balaban (voiced by Balaban), used to be either a pet dog or a famous dog, more or less nostalgic for the world with shit shoveling officers; only Chief (voiced by Bryan Cranston), because it was originally a stray dog, I despise stupid humans.
One day, these guys were fighting with other dogs to eat garbage, and a plane "landed" on the island, and it turned out to be a 12-year-old boy inside. It took them a long time to realize that he was looking for his exiled dog owner, Spots.
Spots is a historical person (dog?) - he is the first dog owner exiled by Kobayashi, Atari, the shit shovel officer, that is, this little boy, is Kobayashi's adopted son. When Atari was injured, it was the care of his dog owner, Spots, that restored hope to his life. Without the dog owner, his life as a shit shovel officer would be incomplete.
In the spirit of humanitarianism, Rex and other dogs decided to help the poor child, only Chief was unhappy, but he still followed.
In the process of looking for Spots, they encountered all kinds of dogs, walked through all kinds of ruins on the island, and were chased by robot dogs and drones sent by Xiaolin. But Atari is a loyal shit shoveling officer, and he has to walk even if his feet are worn out, and he won't stop until he finds Spots.
On the other side, Kobayashi, an evil cat minion, not only was cruel to his adopted son, but also shamelessly assassinated Professor Watanabe, who had developed a drug to treat canine flu, in order to exterminate the dog owner. Tracy (voiced by Greta Gerwig), an exchange student from the United States, as a typical American "white left", exposed and protested Kobayashi's behavior, hoping to prevent him from being re-elected.
Of course, the dog owner doesn't care about these news, it's just that stupid humans have to tell us in the dog owner's language.
In the second half of the story, Chief and several other dog companions are accidentally separated and forced to face Atari alone, and his feelings for the shit shovel officer begin to take a turn. The shit shoveling officer felt that he was taking care of him and playing with him, but he said, I only cooperated with you because of pity for you, a stubborn human cub. Don't make a mistake about who is the master.
After finding Spots, the shit shoveling officer found out that the dog owner didn't need him anymore, what a good thing. As a responsible dog, Chief had to take in the shit shoveling officer, and continued to cooperate with him. Otherwise, if you say that this child is still young and has great responsibilities, without the guidance of the dog owner, how can it be?
Many people analyze and emphasize the political metaphor in this film, but I don't think it is necessary to over-interpret it. While narrating the dog-hunting line on the island, the film is interspersed with the intriguing power struggles of human beings in the city. Although the dogs and children are in the ruins, they are simple, sincere, and sharp. In contrast, the well-dressed and smart adults are like clowns jumping on the beam. Perhaps in the eyes of Wes Anderson, who is childlike and loving, the complex adult world itself is absurd and ironic.
The film is not without flaws. For example, in the narrative, the plot that is not complicated in general has been added with too many details and supporting characters, which has become a bit messy, so there are also comments that it is difficult to concentrate on the whole process. In addition, the main characters, whether human or dog, are almost all male, and there are very few outstanding females. Scarlett Johansson, unsurprisingly, has another sexy stunner after "Fantasy Forest"-even if she dubs animals, she can't jump out of the locked "sexy goddess" image. Tilda Swinton has walked so many red carpets to save face, and the name is so high, in fact, there are not two lines. The most popular is the American international student dubbed by Greta Gerwig, but there is a cliché of "white savior".
Still, the movie is excellent. From the character modeling to the composition of the picture, the color, to the soundtrack, all departments cooperate perfectly and the style is unified. Moreover, the film has successfully incorporated Japanese elements. Before that, most of the Hollywood films used oriental elements in the style of Ye Gonghao, which made people play.
What's more, Wes Anderson's characteristic sense of humor makes for a very satisfying movie-watching experience. A lot of his cold humor comes from serious parody, such as the statement on the language in the title, and the small note that Professor Watanabe typed out when he was experimenting with drugs. In addition, Anderson has a good grasp of the rhythm of sneezing. The dog owner is talking and talking, and he sneezes suddenly, which is inexplicably cute. In short, if it is released in China, I recommend everyone to watch it.
Finally, I have to remind that although it is an animation, there are indeed some bloody and cruel pictures (bones, stumps, wounds), and some pictures of the human line are also more gloomy, and children who are too young may be afraid. In addition, about 30% of the dialogue is deliberately incomprehensible, and it may be difficult for children to sit still. Parents are also expected to make discretionary decisions.
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