Even those unfamiliar with Wes Anderson by name can probably recognize his films based on his visual style alone. Tight zooms on characters, eccentric locations, focusing on minute moments and specifically the static camera 360 turn. After last gracing screens in 2014 with one of the best films of that year, ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Wes Anderson returns to deliver audiences a bleakly beautiful film in “Isle of Dogs.”
Stylistic animated films are nothing new, however given Anderson’s seemingly obsessive control over his shots, his animated films tend to be his most beautiful. Since he can examine every crevasse and every detail, his style tends to come out the best in these films, and the same is true for “Isle of Dogs.”
While it is his bleakest film in terms of color, it also means that the lack of color and color contrast stands out all the better. The stark white of a landmass made entirely of paper contrasts excellently with the burnt rubble of an explosion. Brightly colored eyes against black fur, the colorful version of future Japan, and the expansive vistas all pop with every passing minute.
It also manages to give the film a unique style and depth that makes everything seem more alive and larger. All of it shot with Anderson’s typically gorgeous style to deliver a film that invites audiences to let their eyes lose to run around in the sets. It’s by far the most visually engaging film to hit theatres since “Paddington 2.”
Each has a lifelike fluidity that seems almost at odds with the handmade nature of the medium, and it creates a wonderfully quirky world that sits right at home with Anderson’s best films. It cannot be overstated how fluid and incredibly lifelike these characters and their movements are. Magical is the only word that can describe them. It also features some clever uses of hand drawn animation that help to flesh out the world even more so, as do uses of title cards and subtitles.
Anderson’s version of Japan is beautiful, and while it’s clearly an American’s interpretation of the country, it’s clear that it’s also the interpretation of someone who loves it. Every scene seems to embrace the lovable bizarreness of the culture wholeheartedly, either within the writing or the visuals. It’s not one-hundred percent accurate, but it’s never disrespectful and always comes from a point of love.
As usual, Wes gets the best out of his cast, which consists of both Japanese and American voice actors like Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Yoko Ono, Koyu Rankin, Akira Takayama, Akira Ito, Great Gerwig, and Tilda Swinton, to name just a few. Although not all of his cast members are used as thoroughly as other, it never feels intentional, more just the byproduct of making an ensemble film.
Despite the wide cast though, Bryan Cranston and Koyu Rankin are the stars of the show. Both get the most amount of screen time, yes, but their bond nevertheless feels honest and worked for. The emotional journey they travel on together is never boring and always imbued with an evolving respect and love that ties back into the film’s biggest theme, but more on that later.
Alexandre Desplat delivers a musical score right alongside his best works, and it bleeds into the film’s very identity. He and Anderson creates some truly remarkable sequences with the combination of the film’s visuals and music, and it would be difficult to ever think of one without the other. They also utilize the song ‘I Won’t Hurt You” by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band multiple times with effective emotional results.
However, for someone familiar with Anderson’s previous works, and with his last animated film “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” these may already be obvious facts. Things to expect from Wes and his cast and crew. The thing that sets this apart from his past films is its theme. While most of Wes’s films have been mainly comedic with elements of drama throughout, “Isle” is arguably his most serious film, and one that examines a theme in multiple unique ways.
Love is at the core of this film, be it love between people, between pets, between a country and its citizens, even diving into the negative effects of love on someone, and why some people just feel like they aren’t allowed to feel it. It’s a theme constantly discussed in different ways, and it feels almost therapeutic in the film’s utilization of it.
By the time characters begin discussing the emotions past effects on them, audiences have become connected, and it feels like witnessing a great friend come to terms with a deep emotional pain. It’s a revolutionary feeling to witness, especially when it’s all coming from the mouths of tiny puppet dogs.
“Isle of Dogs” may very well be Anderson’s most emotionally mature film yet. It’s examination of the subject of love and care extends throughout the entire film and even into the production. Given that Anderson is such a perfectionist, to see him create a film addressing the deep-rooted feeling of love seems inspiring. Wonderful voice work combined with beautiful visual help to bring this message fully and completely to life, backed by great music and Wes’s signature witty dialogue. “Isle of Dogs” is a very good boy indeed. 5/5
Photos Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures, American Empirical Pictures, and Indian Paintbrush.
