A Dog’s Way Home is a film which comes directed by Charles Martin Smith who some may know as the director of Dolphin Tale (2011). The film stars Ashley Judd, Johan Hauer-King, Edward James Olmos and Bryce Dallas Howard. The film is about a female dog called Bella, who travels hundreds of kilometres to search for her lost owner.
Before going in to see this film, I wasn’t really too sure I wanted to see it. I used to really like these talking animal movies, but I’ve seen many of them in the past and I guess it’s not really my thing anymore. A Dog’s Way Home looked like more of the same. But I did go and see it at the cinema yesterday and to be honest, I was quite impressed with the film.
The story of this film has Bella (The Dog) and her Owner (Lucas) living quite happily in their neighbourhood. But an obscure law in the United States apparently says that the type of dog that Bella is, is not allowed to be owned because the dog itself is of a dangerous breed. But Bella is a well trained, quite friendly animal that would not hurt anyone. Unfortunately for Bella, an unscrupulous dog inspector has it in for her and goes out of his way to have her impounded and put down. It becomes the owner’s decision to send Bella far away to live and they take her essentially into the wilderness. Bella is confused by all this and the poor dog just wants to go home and this is where her journey begins.
The journey back home for Bella is quite an emotional one and one that is full or character, with many people in the cinema I was in getting quite emotional as the film went on. I felt that as the film progressed, I really started to like Bella and really felt for the character as she tried to survive in the wilderness and also deal with her struggles of being alone. The film has strong themes within it about family, loneliness and sadness which it addresses throughout Bella’s journey. In the end of it all, it does end with quite a good meaning to it all and I really enjoyed that.
This is the first film of 2019 that really did surprise me and it was way better than I ever anticipated it be. A Dog’s Way Home is an emotional journey about a dog trying to find her owner, her home and essentially her place in the world. The film has a lot of heart and a great meaning. This is an excellent film to take a whole family of parents and kids to see it as it’s suitable for all ages and has great lessons within it. I am happy to recommend seeing this film at the cinema this weekend. It was certainly a nice experience and one I hope that many others enjoy.
