Togo

Stunning, truly stunning. As I pressed play on <em>'Togo'</em> and began watching the initial scenes unfold, I was expecting a rehash/retread on Disney's previous films on this sort - e.g. <em>'White Fang'</em> or <em>'Iron Will'</em>. Those are good in their own right, but this 2019 film - which is about a true story - takes things to another dimension. It tugs at the heartstrings profusely, from the first scene to the very last. It's superbly written, with there being a fair amount of surprises in terms of how the story unfolds. It's shot beautifully and put together, via the set design etc., excellently, while the score is magnificent. Then you have the dogs, who are insanely charming throughout - especially, of course, the star that is Togo (Diesel). There's many a moment with him that produce all the feelings, from joy to sorrow to everything in between. The dogs are great and incredibly adorable. Away from all of that, you have an outstanding performance from Willem Dafoe. Before seeing this, the most I remember of him is his role in <em>'Mr. Bean's Holiday'</em>. This now takes over in those regards, it's a brilliant job done by Dafoe. Julianne Nicholson merits praise, also. What a film. Not what I was expecting whatsoever, in the nicest possible way. Glad to see it has also been highly rated online. A must-watch!

If you can imagine a medicinal equivalent of the pony express, then you’ll have an idea of the thrust behind the story of “Togo”. Initially a young hound that his owner Leonhard Seppala (Willem Dafoe) might have readily cooked, his annoying persistence and determination saw him prove his worth before becoming the lead dog on the sleigh run that ensured vital serum reached the northernmost parts of the country with a run of some two hundred-odd miles, often through some atrocious conditions that reached -50° and saw winds in excess of sixty miles per hour. Hands up, I’m not really a dog lover and so whilst there can be no denying the amazing achievements of the dogs and their handler, I found this to be a little too repetitious and frankly, the CGI does it few favours and relies very heavily on the audio to convince us of the treacherous conditions that didn’t quite convince my eyes. Dafoe does well enough, as does Julianne Nicholson as his wife Constance, and the younger version of “Togo” offers us a truly enthusiastic performance as he balances determination, mischief and a sheer bloody-mindedness that might well have seen any other owner put him in a sack and into the rapidly flowing river! A bit like “Call of the Wild”, this is a story of perseverance that I felt could have done with more real and less desktop danger, but of you are a canine-cuddler then you'll doubtless enjoy it.