An interesting but overrated film comparing the relationship between a man and his dog and that between White colonist and oppressed Blacks. This does not yield the kind of insight this film clearly thinks it does. The nawab shown here is desperately trying to be thought of as English by playing cricket, yet is clearly not going to be accepted as one of them – only as a faithful poodle. This is because relationships between animals and humans are mostly natural; those between races and racists always forced – they are not really comparable.
That notwithstanding, this is a better movie about the relationship between fathers and sons; in this case, a dysfunctional one. The father experiences more sorrow for the loss of his dog than for his son, which the surviving male sibling inevitably resents. Eventually, however, the father comes to partake in the necessary process of grieving through meeting a man who was once the deceased dog he formerly owned. He reconnects with the emotions he feared (& renounced) - and with his son; thereby regaining the humanity he had lost.
Not only is this about reincarnation, as such, but also about its alleged purpose – learning from ones mistakes. A fairy tale and a fable all rolled into one proving that Man's best friend is his dog because animal limitations throw into sharp relief the fact that relationships with humans are more important and that dogs are no substitute.
The ideas here are interesting but the characterization is rather thin. The plotting expects us to accept this story without too many shocked looks from non believers. Odd, given how fundamentally fantastic it really all is. Because characters are the sole means of fleshing out the themes of any drama, this leaves us with metempsychosis (& dog loving) as the focus rather than the all important human relationships. Nevertheless, the quality cast clearly revels in this neatly understated Buddhist whimsy.
Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.
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