Rating: 4 / 5 stars
By Sally Burgess, Technical Manager
Based on a true story, Red Dog is the story of how a stray kelpie/cattle dog cross brought together the remote town of Dampier in north-west Australia. Told in flashbacks to a truck driver who arrives late in the town bar one night, the various residents recall their fondest memories of Red Dog as he lies sick from apparent strychnine poisoning.
Red Dog has no real master and is everyone’s dog; befriending everyone in the town except for the local caravan park owners who own possibly the scariest cat on the continent. The town is occupied mainly by iron ore miners who treat Red as one of their own. Then American John Grant (Josh Lucas) turns up to work at the mine as a driver, and finds that Red has picked him as his master.
Unfortunately a tragedy befalls the town, and Red leaves Dampier, roaming the country from Perth to Darwin and is spotted as far as Japan before finally making his way back home...
This is a cracking movie that the family will love. There is just the right amount of comedy to offset the dramatic events that unfold, and the film has such a strong Aussie heart at its core that you can almost taste the Vegemite.
The late actor Bill Hunter (from Muriel’s Wedding, and Priscilla) makes one of his last appearances on film here in Red Dog which was a nice surprise. But the star of the film is Koko the dog who dominates the film with every tail wag and facial gesture.
Definitely one to watch.
And yes you will need tissues.
Standout performance: Koko the red dog. Almost human at times!
This movie is now showing at Reading Cinemas in Queenstown.
This review has been written and rated by Sally Burgess of Reading Cinemas Queenstown.
Red Dog Rated: PG- contains coarse language Starring: Josh Lucas, Noah Taylor Genre: Comedy/Drama Running time: 102 mins
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