Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson, 2018) Movie • Page 5

I'm aware they're the perspectives of Asian critics, but Asian critics can be guilty of minimalization/erasure just as much as any other critics. That tweet is a pretty convenient hand-waving dismissal of a PoC's integral contributions to the film, at least to me.

To be clear, I'm by no means saying they aren't worth listening to, and I haven't seen the movie yet so I don't even know how correct they are, I'm just commenting that it's strange to see people complaining about insensitivity to the Japanese while erasing/minimizing a key Japanese collaborator's input almost entirely. Comes across as hypocritical, at least to me.

 

I wish it were showing in my middle of nowhere town.

 

My AMC usually shows a fair amount of indies, especially this past season with all the Oscar contenders. They've even had an Isle of Dogs poster hanging up since November but nope, not playing it this weekend.

 

I still can't get over Scarlett Johansson and Tilda Swinton being two of the voices in this, lol.

As far as Anderson having a Japanese person's input in the film... Avril Lavigne's "Hello Kitty" music video had a Japanese director, producers, etc. And the Johansson Ghost in the Shell film was well received in Japan. I'm not qualified to comment on the nuances of Japan's relationship to American depictions of Japanese culture, but suffice to say Nomura's involvement doesn't by any means absolve this film of any criticisms being leveled towards it.

 

Four years of waiting and it’s finally here.

 

That was adorable. Really really beautifully done.

 

Incredible. Loved it. In awe of the artistry on display. Can’t wait to see it again.

 

Looks like 4/6 for wide.

 

I actually saw 4/13 somewhere. I hope wherever you saw is the source that's correct.

 

Debating on whether to go to a pre-screening tonight and battle the crowd, or just wait until tomorrow or Wednesday and not have to worry about waiting in line for hours.

 

I also went to see it at GSP. Such an enjoyable film. Anderson's humor/quirkiness is def in full effect in this one and the cast of voices was incredible. Also, I can't imagine how much time and effort goes into making a feature length film with stop-motion animation. Quite a task.

 

Loved this

Yeah, it's worth it

 

This is superb. Smart and hilarious throughout. Not sure why people have a problem with Tilda Swinton, but her character was the best in the movie.

 

Really want to go see this tonight, but I think I'm gonna watch Oh Lucy instead since today's the last time it's playing before it leaves theaters. Maybe I can catch Isle tomorrow.

 

Hey, I just saw this movie and it was really really really good.

 

Incredibly dumb that the main Japanese character was named "Atari" which isn't even a name in Japanese it's just Wes' cute reference to the game system like wtf

I thought this was enjoyable tbf, but there are plenty of things that rub me the wrong way to hold me back from loving it

Wes Anderson has always been a profoundly insular white filmmaker and I didn't really expect him to branch out beyond the worldview and perspective he's familiar with so I wasn't necessarily disappointed in that aspect

What it comes down to, and what I kept thinking the entire time is that if you were an individual who spoke both Japanese and English, this film would not work at all for you, and that's super shitty to me

I want to be clear I'm not trying to just do some Wes Anderson pile on here, I realized he's beloved (he's made some of my favorite films), but I think it's important to actually engage with these critiques

 

That's a really good piece right here, although I personally disagree with his implication that Isle of Dogs doesn't meet his suggested two-part solution to the problem. Wes clearly did the work, bringing on Nomura as a co-writer and creative consultant throughout the entire process to ensure it was respectful and not explotative, and he also didn't "[fill his] plate with exotic flavors and [set] it in front of a Caucasian protagonist to be tickled and amused by." Even if the dogs are considered "Caucasian protagonists" in the way he means the phrase, that was not their reaction to the Japanese culture on display nor was it the intent of the film either.

I would liken this much more to Moana and Coco than I would to Kubo, personally. And even then, I don't think Moana had a single person of Pacific Island descent on either the writing or directing teams. So yeah they did their research but they didn't have any input from someone whose culture they were working in when it came to those important creative decisions. Based on all the evidence I've seen, in contrast, Isle of Dogs doesn't get made without Nomura's assistance.

But yeah, I agree with his analysis of the overall issue 100%.

 

I know everyone has been posting hella links in this thread but this piece sums up most of how I feel re: this film's relationship toward Japanese speakers:

http://www.vulture.com/2018/03/what-its-like-to-watch-isle-of-dogs-as-a-japanese-speaker.html

 

As someone who is neither Japanese-American, nor Japanese, nor fluent in Japanese, this was a thoughtful read. The interviewees' responses to the movie were interesting to see for sure.

 

All of the articles I’ve been reading leave me feeling super conflicted for liking this film as much as I did/do.

I’m pretty dang annoyed by the fact that the Japanese dialogue doesn’t hold much depth and by the lack of attention to detail on the written language. Mmmm

 

Jeff Goldblum as a dog was delightful especially when he said "I love gossip", and in general this had a great cast
The dogs were cute and good doggos despite what anyone may say
I still don't think there was any reason to set this in Japan and have the whole white savior arc with Tracy, like is Japanese people hate dogs a stereotype I haven't heard of
also the whole political allegory never quite gelled, I guess dogs were immigrants or POC or something

 

Nah, that's just a weird Wes Anderson thing.

 

This was alright. Definitely enjoyed it. The animation really drew me in and made me feel like this world was real. But overall, it just didn't grab me like some of his other films have though.

 

The whole white person being the leader of this group of young Japanese students thing did rub me the wrong way, I'd say that was the part that kept taking me out of the film. It was just like... why? Why not just have it be a Japanese girl?