Delightful tale of animals, community, love and death, told in a leisurely, laid-back way with plenty of passages that raised a smile, and a few moments of pathos that touched our hearts. A film about people, a dog and a cat in a hard environment in the Australian outback, where friendship is what makes life worth living and homesickness, whether for a village in Italy or a lost loved one shows where roots run deep. But even when there's no going back, eventually the characters find a way for life to go on. Well-acted, well directed, and based on a true tale. We found this a film to relax and de-stress with.
The setting: a sleepy mining town in Pilbara, an outback in Australia. The time: 1970s. The mood: Sad. When truck driver Thomas (Luke Ford) arrives in Dampier, he finds a community completely distraught over the impending death of a dog. Yes, a dog. But this is no ordinary mutt. This is ‘Red Dog’ and the film is all about him… and then some.
How a dog could be the source of grief for humans is not surprising, but in this community, Red Dog has done more than just become man’s best friend. Red Dog has done many heroic feats, big and small, and whether he does it intentionally or coincidentally, you can say that this dog has kept busy. And the town even constructed Red Dog his very own statue! This was the inspiration for author Louis de Bernieres to write a novella about this beloved mutt.
The titular ‘Red Dog’ is a red cloud kelpie. Koko is Red Dog and he plays the lead most perfectly. Directed by Kriv Stenders and written for the screen by Daniel Taplitz, the film is feel-good all over, but don’t expect schmaltziness here. The film makers make sure the legend of Red Dog is told and yet it’s not a typical Hollywood tearjerker. This is set in Australia, after all, and the outback has never been photographed as wonderfully as this. The outback is rustic and even romantic, not bleak at all, filled with hope and happy endings.
Josh Lucas is the lone American in ‘Red Dog’ and like the mutt, he too is in search of where he truly belongs. He is brought to Australia and there, meets the do-gooder Red Dog and what do you know, the mutt has a beautiful female local (Rachael Taylor) for Lucas’ character. And matchmaking is just one of the nicest things Red Dog has done for this community!
Indeed, although ‘Red Dog’ is technically an hour or more film, it is a modern fable with this moral of the story: Goodness can come from all of us. Even a mutt like Red Dog, you know.