Jacob, a feisty, playful dog abandoned by his owners joins a pack of strays and comes to terms with his unwanted and abrupt freedom. With his new friends in tow, Ralph heads north and finds the perfect place of safety and peace – the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.
Jacob (Do Kyung-soo), like many of us, wants to see the best in everyone and believes that his owners who abandoned the fluffy and playful dog, did not intend to do so. As a pet who has been attached to his family since he was a young pup, he has no clue as to what goes on in the world outside of his head. He quickly finds out though, when he is tossed into the wilderness and stumbles upon an odd group of pets who have formed a bond as reformed castaways. The group, led by their fearless leader, all have stories of abandonment and encourage Jacob to embrace his new life as a stray. Each of their personalities seems to provide a rhetorical balm in which Jacob must cover himself with in order to gain their trust and learn their individual circle of influence.
Jacob’s adjustment doesn’t come easy and when he gets a wild hair up his butt, he strays from the group thinking he can learn to fend for himself. He then meets up with a family of wolves and tries to blend in by helping to fill their deficit of food by taking it from someone else. The wolves are not impressed as the strays are believed to be the source of their food deficit and they are totally not cool with the stealing as they believe they will suffer repercussions as a result. Along with this issue, Jacob has become the new doppelganger that will lead the local dog catcher to the wolves. After a few dramatic chases, the dog catcher creeps up on Jacob and has a chip installed in him so he can track him back to the wolf who is worth lots of money if he is caught. Unbeknownst to Jacob, he leads the dog catcher right where he wants to be before he actually realizes that the more he hangs with the group, the more danger he is putting them in. When he tries to separate himself from the group and from the emotions he has gained through their loyalty, he gets into more trouble, and in the end, the group comes to his defense. As he processes the relationships and the tragedies he has experienced with his new family of strays, he finally grows into the leadership role that he never knew he was destined for.
Korean directors Chun-Baek Lee and Oh Sung-Yoon do an excellent job of shaping the characters of the animals to fit perfectly within the realm and range of emotions that are comparable to human nature. The adventures in the wild show us if we hold up our individual responsibility, then it is easier for the group to succeed as a whole. While there are a few sad moments in the film, the lessons learned are universally adaptable and appropriately humorous enough for stress-free entertainment. One definitely doesn’t have to be an animal lover to appreciate the journey these animals have taken to build self-esteem, hope, and a bright future in spite of many obstacles. The film, which won Best Film at the 2019 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, highlights the journey to reach the safe and peaceful demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. The “village mentality” definitely plays a crucial role in the never-ending game of survival and unashamedly has no age limit to deter anyone from appreciating its value.
Now available on Digital and on Blu-ray™ and DVD August 18th
i love watching this so much