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10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 MAY 2018 FILM THE fey, symmetry-obsessed American director Wes An- derson (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Rushmore) returns to the world of puppet-based stop-motion animation for the first time since Fantastic Mr Fox (2009) for this cheeky and endearing satirical fable, which opened the Berlinale on the night of February 15. I was admittedly chuffed to have been there on the night itself, where Anderson was present along with his team of super- star voiceover actors and – crucially – a dedicated cadre of animators. It proved to be an inspired choice for an opening film in a festival which prides itself for setting the cinematic year ahead, even before the glitz of Cannes begins to make head- lines – as it is right now. It was also inspiring given how fraught global realities feel at the moment, and how splin- tered the world of American entertainment itself has been following the Weinstein alle- gations. Because Anderson's fable – co-written with Roman Cop- pola, Jason Schwartzman and Kunichi Nomura – succeeds in offering up a sumptuously im- agined and consistently amus- ing escapist convention, while never quite blanking on harsh realities. Set in the fictional Megasaki City in Japan and taking place in a vague near-future, Isle of Dogs sees the metropolis' ca- nine population fall prey to the authoritarian whims of Major Kobayashi (Kunichi Nomura) – who opts to deal with a ca- nine virus by forcibly deport- ing all of the city's dogs to a remote island. The first among this unfortunate bunch is actu- ally Spots – belonging to Atari Kobayashi (Koyu Rankin), the Major's newly-orphaned neph- ew and ward. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Atari joyrides his way to, and crash-lands on, the bleak isle, where he is greeted by a pack of its hard- ened survivors. Among their number is Chief (Bryan Cran- ston), Rex (Edward Norton), King (Bob Balaban), Boss (Bill Murray) and Duke (Jeff Gold- blum). While the prospect of locating Spots appears to be unlikely at first, help is also at hand from Megasaki City, where American exchange student and activist Tracy Walker (Greta Gerwig) begins ISLE OF DOGS I LOVE DOGS DOG DAY AFTERNOON WORKING LIKE A DOG GONE TO THE DOGS Canine superstars An impressive voice-over cast leads the way in Wes Anderson's heart-warming and clever return to stop-motion animation I S LE O F D O G S ( P G ) to question both the ethics and the science behind the Major's mass deportation ef- forts. Actually, closer in tone, am- bition and approach to The Grand Budapest Hotel than to the localised domestic drame- dy that was Fantastic Mr Fox, Anderson's ninth feature is a glorious expose of the direc- tor's trademark visual wit, as bolstered by a Japanese aes- thetic that helps tell the time- less story of a boy and his dog, with a whimsical-dystopian twist the challenging tonal balances of which only the likes of Anderson can pull off. There's no denying the sheer joy to be found in even the tiniest details and the seem- ingly plot-irrelevant inter- ludes; like the chopping up of ingredients to make unique Japanese dishes, or the lon- gueur where the dogs totter from one side of the island to the other, revealing an ar- ray of details that other films would not have found it in themselves to include. Indeed, the stop-motion style edges the experience closer to being an object made by a crafts- man. Like a hand-made clock, or even a particularly me- ticulous Christmas crib, you know each detail was made with the considered care that would have otherwise escaped a committee working against the clock with zero invest- ment in the material. The charm that pervades the entire enterprise – indeed, in a way that transfers the full, magical weight of that word – is evident in both the clev- erness and artistry employed by Anderson and his team. And so, the many instances of spoken Japanese throughout the film are translated, not by the standard subtitled text at the bottom of the screen, but through more oblique means that nonetheless ensure that the message comes across. And given that this is a sto- ry that's all about empathy trumping over fear and bigot- ry, making an effort to bridge both the spoken and the visual languages feels more than apt. It feels like a mighty fine use to the cinematic idiom, in fact. Teodor Reljic ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Wes Anderson's return to stop- motion animation is a delightful fantasia that packs both heart and eye-candy, capped off with a trademark f lourish of the director's dry wit The verdict Just like Wes Ander- son's Grand Budapest Hotel snuck in themes of between-the-wars migra- tion as part of its rollicking farce, so this sweet fable comes with a bitter after- taste; a reminder of how the powers-that-be all to easily marginalise those who are inconvenient, with wrenching and devastating results. In some ways, Isle of Dogs may appear to be little more than a confec- tion, but its hidden depths are worth savouring as much as its – many – visual wonders. The Isle of Dogs will be screened at Spazju Kreat- tiv at St James Cavalier, Valletta on May 23 and 25 at 19:30 and 20:30 respec- tively. Heartstrings duly tugged, eyeballs duly indulged