A Dog's Purpose

A Dog's Purpose (2017) is about a dog being reborn again and again, finding itself beside a different person each time. In its first life the dog grows up with a boy called Ethan. It dies and is born as another dog: a police dog, then a student's dog, then a neglected yard dog. In each life it remembers the earlier ones and looks for a purpose. It is narrated from inside the dog's head. The dog mostly does not understand what people are doing, and the humour comes from there. It is adapted from W. Bruce Cameron's novel. A serious crisis broke just before release. Footage published by TMZ appeared to show a German Shepherd being forced into fast moving water. It spread quickly, calls for a boycott followed, and the Los Angeles premiere was cancelled. An independent investigation followed. American Humane's report found the video had been deliberately edited to mislead the public, that scenes filmed at two different times had been joined together, and that no animal was harmed. It established that the dog had been conditioned for the water scenes over six weeks and that five specialists were present on set. So the most discussed event around the film did not hold up when it was actually examined. Lasse Hallström directed. It runs 100 minutes. Good for: animal films, family viewing, and emotional drama. Less good for: the dog dies repeatedly and the film does not spare you; the sentiment runs very high.