A Dog’s Way Home review – Bella’s compass calls

A Dog’s Way Home is not exactly Disney, but there are elements within this furry tale that will connect with audiences as a dog undertakes a treacherous journey to find her way home.

Directed by former actor Charles Martin Smith, this production will touch tender hearts because of an adorable mutt named Bella. This bow-wow with the know-how steals the show as she tries to find her way home and survive against overwhelming odds.

Though the format is similar to many other doggy escapades in which an animal attempts to reconnect with its owners, this one is not wrapped in a blanket of sentimentality.

A Dog’s Way Home. Photo: Sony Pictures

It all begins when Lucas (Jonah Hauer-King) and his girlfriend Olivia (Alexandra Shipp) who live in Denver, Colorado befriend a puppy found on a construction site. It is part of a gang of animals living there, including a brave mother cat and a litter of meowing kittens.

Lucas is besotted with the puppy and takes it home for his mother, Terri, who is played by Ashley Judd.

Lucas continues to feed the cats at the old house, which puts him in the crosshairs of the man who wants to demolish the house. He reports to the city authorities about the cats living there, which delays developer Gunter Beckenbauer’s demolition plans.

To get revenge, Gunter arranges for Bella to be declared a pitbull terrier because Denver has outlawed pitbulls as a dangerous breed. That that is when the real drama begins.

A Dog’s Way Home. Photo: Sony Pictures

To avoid a run in with the law, Bella is sent to stay with Lucas’s friends in another city. But she escapes from them and tries to find her way back home.

The journey, in which Bella’s life is constantly in danger from both humans and wild animals, takes up most of the film.

Edward James Olmas, another veteran whom we haven’t seen on screen in years, plays a homeless man who comes into contact with Bella with almost deadly consequences.

Bryce Dallas Howard provides the voice-over for Bella’s thoughts and feelings and has a tiny role.

Beautifully photographed against a shifting visual canvas, which includes watching a massive snow storm in the mountains, attempts at evading a ferocious pack of hungry wolves and befriending a lonely mountain lion cub, this canine caper certainly lifts the spirit and hits the emotional button.

A Dog’s Way Home. Photo: Sony Pictures

There are subtle messages woven into the fabric of the story about family and the power of unconditional love and compassion.

Director Smith knows how to manipulate the heart strings with a trick here and there, but in the end it strikes enough resonant chords to make the viewing a reasonably entertaining experience.

Info

Rating: ★★★☆☆
Cast: Jonah-Hauer-King, Ashley Judd, Alexandra Shipp, Edward James Olmos, Bryce Dallas Howard (voice), Wes Studi
Director: Charles Martin Smith
Classification: PGV

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