“Isle of Dogs” was a gem I discovered on my 16-hour flight back to China after my summer internship. In this latest movie, Wes Anderson creates a world that seems remotely connected to ours while being uniquely absurd. The fictional Japanese city Megasaki is similarly civilized but is ruled by a cat-fancying tyrannical mayor. Dogs are banished from the human society to the isolated place of Trash Island. As a result, the effect is both thrilling and terrifying. Although I have never owned a dog myself, I personally found myself asking plaintively throughout the movie, “what happened to man’s best friend?”. The movie successfully arouses our love and sympathy towards the dogs, whom are indeed rescued in the end. However, the relationship between the dogs and human characters has made me ponder what might be the true component of such strong emotional bond.

The story is narrated from the perspective of the dogs, who also provide the emotions in this movie. The five main dogs living on Trash Islands are Rex, Duke, Boss, King, and Chief. They are pleasant, intelligent, and has learned to be independent from the unreliable kindness of mans. However, deep down their hearts they are still longing for their past connections with their masters, and they yearn for a gentle pat on the head - except Chief.

Chief is different from the other dogs since the beginning. He is the strongest and the most rebellious. He would always disagree with the opinions of others, and from his past experience he refuses to become a pet again. However, when the boy Atari arrives on the island and starts the journey to find his “Spots”, Chief accompanies him, and develops emotional connection to the boy as the story progresses. When Atari and Chief find Spots to realize that he has already formed a family, Chief chooses to stay with Atari and becomes his new bodyguard.

In my opinion, the reason that leads to Chief’s drastic change in attitude is responsibility. He serves as Atari’s guardian along the journey, protecting him from being harmed. When Atari asks him to fetch a stick, he does, after refusing twice, saying “I’m not doing this because you commanded me to; I’m doing this because I feel sorry for you.” Chief could have left Atari straight, but he knows if he abandons him, Atari would never walk out of Trash Island alive let alone find Spots. After Chief fetches the stick, Atari pours his love into Chief. He gives Chief a bath and shares half of Spots’ biscuit with Chief. It is at this moment that Chief, who has always fought for his own freedom and honor, realizes what it feels to be loved and relied on.

From Chief and Atari, I realize that for them, and for every relationship, the love, loyalty, or trust requires effort. It does not contain true independence nor freedom, but requires responsibilities and compromises. When Chief leaves his former master and lives the life of a stray dog, he also eliminates the possibility of being loved. However, when Chief realizes how important he is to Atari and that responsibility somehow means love, he is willing to put down his guard and pride and open to a new life. His new master Atari risks his life for dogs, tries to rescue them, and firmly believes in them. As Chief learns about the relationship between love, self-esteem and responsibility, he is able to grow, and feels the joy of being loved again.

In The Little Prince, the fox says, “to me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys… To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world.” Just like the little prince and the fox, Atari tamed Chief, and they both become the unique to each other. At the same time, however, love isn’t all about being tamed. When Atari finds his beloved Spots, Spots has formed a family and begun another life. Although they still care deeply about each other, their relationship as bodyguard and master has ended. Yet even when there is no more responsibility to be assumed and no more accompany to be kept, their emotional connection remains tight. Therefore, we see that love is also about letting go.

From the beautiful Isle of Dogs, we learn through a dog’s eyes the love, hate, and the complicated relationship between man and dog. The dogs in the movie are not humans’ subordinates but their equal. Although the movie contains other implications of political and cultural issue, we can learn from the characters that a true bond often finds its roots in mutual understanding, making concessions and most importantly being responsible.