Opening Day: 7 July 2005

Synopsis :

Living with a dog should be nothing but fun from one day to the next. But life isn’t always a bed of roses, even for a pooch. Here is a new movie which has it all – the love, the laughter, the tears, the whole bundle: “ALL ABOUT MY DOG”.
You never know what the canines are going to get up to next from one episode to another. Sometimes you’ll want to laugh out loud, or just say “Ahh!” And other times you might find a tear in your eye...
The human hero of the story is Shidou Nakamura, who is joined by a line-up of young stars, including Misaki Ito, Aoi Miyazaki and Manami Konishi. In addition, from the ranks of established actors come Yuki Amami, Eiji Kawahira and Katsumi Takahashi, all of whom offer us a completely new slant on their talents.
“ABOUT A DOG” is an all-new take on the human/canine film genre, thanks to the genius and imagination of directors Isshin Inudo and Yoshio Kuroda, along with their team of creators and all-star cast. This spring, who will be able to resist the charms of this funny, warm and touching movie?

Movie Review:

It's been some time since a movie solely devoted to man's best friend, or starring dogs, hit the big screen. Lassie and Beethoven are those I can think of, which made popular the Collie and the St Bernard, in addition to animations like 101 Dalmations and All Dogs Go To Heaven.

All About Dogs is an anthology of 11 (yes, it's that many!) short stories, each being a showcase for different directors. While some semblance of a main narrative follows the adventures of "Pochi" and his human friend Yamada, we are also treated to a variety of situations, styles, genres and of course, different dogs in the different segments.

Human actors take a backseat (not that they are doing a bad job), with the spotlight on our canine friends. Even though half of the stories relate to one dog, we are introduced to others (one of my favourites was the bulldog) as we journey through the film. Each short story segment can be so different, ranging from comedy (the "Bowlingual" device just cracks me up) to tragedy, animation to even a dance number and musical, but each retaining trying to retain some exploration into human-canine friendships. May I paraphrase a famous movie line to comment, that this film is like a box of chocolates, you'll never know what you're gonna get for each segment!

So I won't be dwelling into each segment on its own, which I feel I won't be able to explain without threading on spoilers and ruining the enjoyment of the movie for you. Personally, my favourite story was the last, where the audience is told a tale which spans emotions from happy highs and sad lows, told from both the human owner and the dog's perspective. It's a touching tale, and fitting to end the film as a whole.

However, some may find the variety too wide, and a bit awkward to have different styles harshly meshed into one movie. So this film is recommended for dog lovers, and for those who prefer to experience something different from your usual noisy summer blockbusters.

If you'd enjoyed the fillers and transitions where a stop-motion clay dog entertains, you might want to stay until the end of the credits to see the dog one last time and hear a farewell bark!

Movie Rating: B

Review by Stefan Shih