list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Sun Dogs on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Sun_Dogs/351759/default.aspx Title: Sun Dogs
Year: 2007
Director: Andrea Stewart
Plot: The true story of the Jamaican dogsled team comes to the screen in this documentary that follows twelve stray dogs from the streets and animal shelters of Kingston as they travel the globe in search of adventure. No one ever thought these weathered canines would amount to anything, but thanks to a mission spearheaded by pop legend Jimmy Buffet the dogs who once wandered the streets now have a new lease on life. In forming Jamaica's first-ever dog sled racing team, both man and beast will learn the importance of never giving up hope and always reaching for a brighter future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 3
Number of Lists: 3
Number of blog posts: 10
Number of discussion threads: 2
SpoutRating: 1
]]>Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:48:57 GMTSun Dogs2007Andrea StewartThe true story of the Jamaican dogsled team comes to the screen in this documentary that follows twelve stray dogs from the streets and animal shelters of Kingston as they travel the globe in search of adventure. No one ever thought these weathered canines would amount to anything, but thanks to a mission spearheaded by pop legend Jimmy Buffet the dogs who once wandered the streets now have a new lease on life. In forming Jamaica's first-ever dog sled racing team, both man and beast will learn the importance of never giving up hope and always reaching for a brighter future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide3Slightly Tagged (1-5)31021http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/u46265j2qyb.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Sun_Dogs/351759/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/vhsparrow/archive/2008/8/12/33908.aspx Post By: vhsparrow
Post To: vhsparrow Blog
Post Date: 8/12/2008 11:26:55 AM
Body: This was a pleasant surprise -- not necessarily a good film, but more interesting than I expected Far from a cruel parting gift from Javier, this was an interesting, affirmative film, but it was both mislabled from a marketing standpoint and mismarketed as a sports film.As many of the film's subjects exclaim at the beginning of the film, Jamaica had a bobsled team, which became the subject of Disney's 'Cool Runnings', but 'Sun Dogs' is neither fiction, nor comedy -- it is a documentary by director Andrea Stewart, who sought to make a film about the efforts of Danny Melville and Devon Anderson to save some of the Bahamas stray dog dog population in by putting the dogs to work in some meaningful way.Perhaps the dogs could have been retrained as guard-dogs, seeing eye dogs or drug seeking animals? All of this are viable canine careers, but training the animals as sled dogs (instead of putting them to sleep) seems something of a flamboyant stunt.Then again, this whole enterprise was conceived and sponsored by Magaritaville founder and sometime musician Jimmy Buffet, so I guess the idea of taking Bahamian strays and subjecting them to sub-zero temperatures with the expectation that they perform in a strenouous competition might have sounded like a good idea. While the Bahamian dogsled team might have started out as a humanitarian effort, I'm not sure that training the dogs on sand and then switching them to snow was the kindest of gestures.While I find the goals of Melville, Anderson and the filmmakers noble, I'm not sure I can applaud the way they packaged it. It's a well made documenatary as it features good interviews and does a solid job profiling its human protagonists, but it's a documentary about Carribean dogsled racers for cryin' out loud!As a travelogue and impact-study, 'Sun Dogs' may be well intentioned, but as a practical humanitarian program, it gets a 'D'. People who pick this up as a rental will likely be expecting a comedy based on the cover-art, so it gets a 'D' there as well.Who was this film intended for, again?
]]>Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:26:55 GMTvhsparrowvhsparrow Blog8/12/2008 11:26:55 AMThis was a pleasant surprise -- not necessarily a good film, but more interesting than I expected Far from a cruel parting gift from Javier, this was an interesting, affirmative film, but it was both mislabled from a marketing standpoint and mismarketed as a sports film.As many of the film's subjects exclaim at the beginning of the film, Jamaica had a bobsled team, which became the subject of Disney's 'Cool Runnings', but 'Sun Dogs' is neither fiction, nor comedy -- it is a documentary by director Andrea Stewart, who sought to make a film about the efforts of Danny Melville and Devon Anderson to save some of the Bahamas stray dog dog population in by putting the dogs to work in some meaningful way.Perhaps the dogs could have been retrained as guard-dogs, seeing eye dogs or drug seeking animals? All of this are viable canine careers, but training the animals as sled dogs (instead of putting them to sleep) seems something of a flamboyant stunt.Then again, this whole enterprise was conceived and sponsored by Magaritaville founder and sometime musician Jimmy Buffet, so I guess the idea of taking Bahamian strays and subjecting them to sub-zero temperatures with the expectation that they perform in a strenouous competition might have sounded like a good idea. While the Bahamian dogsled team might have started out as a humanitarian effort, I'm not sure that training the dogs on sand and then switching them to snow was the kindest of gestures.While I find the goals of Melville, Anderson and the filmmakers noble, I'm not sure I can applaud the way they packaged it. It's a well made documenatary as it features good interviews and does a solid job profiling its human protagonists, but it's a documentary about Carribean dogsled racers for cryin' out loud!As a travelogue and impact-study, 'Sun Dogs' may be well intentioned, but as a practical humanitarian program, it gets a 'D'. People who pick this up as a rental will likely be expecting a comedy based on the cover-art, so it gets a 'D' there as well.Who was this film intended for, again? http://www.spout.com/blogs/belladonna2054/archive/2008/7/26/33125.aspx Post By: belladonna2054
Post To: belladonna2054 Blog
Post Date: 7/26/2008 7:10:35 PM
Body: Sun Dogs is a documentary about Jamaica's first dog sled team. This film really is about the underdogs. Like Jamaica's first bobsled team, which was featured in the movie, Cool Runnings, people didn’t think it would work. However through perseverance and a lot of gull, one can succeed. The difference between Jamaica’s dogsled team and other countries’ teams is that it consists of all stray dogs. These were dogs that have been rescued from the streets of Kingston, which is considered one of the hardest towns to live in Jamaica. Neglected and without homes, these dogs were taken to a school to be cared for and trained to be what would be Jamaica’s first dogsled team. It was Danny Melville, who created Jamaica’s first bobsled team and the endorsement of Jimmy Buffet to put in all in motion. The challenge was difficult because these dogs were not raised like traditional sled dogs, but it was the dogs’ and their trainers’ determination was there to put it all together. But the documentary is not just about the dogs and their trainers, Devon and Newton, it is about Jamaica itself. Though the country is a popular tourist attraction, made famous by its sandy beaches and resorts, it is actually one of the poorest countries in the world. Director Andrea Stewart made light of this in the film. She doesn’t sugarcoat it; she brings up the fact that there are not many education or employment opportunities, there’s a lot of crime and economic desperation. Through many of the experts that Stewart interviews, this team could shed some hope for the country economically as well as morally. The dogs and the mushers are trained in Jamaica before the mushers are sent to the United States to be trained further by more experts and to race. This is due to the quarantine laws of Jamaica which state that you can take a dog out of the country, but the dog cannot go back. So this was it. Through some complicated hurdles, the team quickly makes headlines, not just because they are from Jamaica, but from their fortitude to succeed. Devon is the head trainer and caretaker of the dogs. He is chosen to be the lead musher of the team because of his love of the animals. Newton, who is one of Devon’s workers, is also chosen to be on the team because of the love of the dogs and has a lot of motivation for the team. Both are trained by some of the best experts in bobsledding. Due to a sticky situation Devon is the one that remains to hold on to the pressure to succeed, the most pressure as he is the only one that represents Jamaica. Before long he is taken to Scotland for the international dogsled race. It is there that he and the team really makes a name for themselves all around the world just by forming a team and racing. Stewart did a great job on this film. The photography is great with shots on not only the beauty and the true life of Jamaica, but of the lives of the dogs and the people who lead these dogs to greatness. Though the film is not about the dogs themselves it is about the lives of the trainers and those who interact with them as well. You get a great aspect of what people deal with and grown up with in Jamaica which is not always pretty or glamorous as all the commercials on television depict it to be. The documentary also shows how these people love these dogs greatly.
]]>Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:10:35 GMTbelladonna2054belladonna2054 Blog7/26/2008 7:10:35 PMSun Dogs is a documentary about Jamaica's first dog sled team. This film really is about the underdogs. Like Jamaica's first bobsled team, which was featured in the movie, Cool Runnings, people didn’t think it would work. However through perseverance and a lot of gull, one can succeed. The difference between Jamaica’s dogsled team and other countries’ teams is that it consists of all stray dogs. These were dogs that have been rescued from the streets of Kingston, which is considered one of the hardest towns to live in Jamaica. Neglected and without homes, these dogs were taken to a school to be cared for and trained to be what would be Jamaica’s first dogsled team. It was Danny Melville, who created Jamaica’s first bobsled team and the endorsement of Jimmy Buffet to put in all in motion. The challenge was difficult because these dogs were not raised like traditional sled dogs, but it was the dogs’ and their trainers’ determination was there to put it all together. But the documentary is not just about the dogs and their trainers, Devon and Newton, it is about Jamaica itself. Though the country is a popular tourist attraction, made famous by its sandy beaches and resorts, it is actually one of the poorest countries in the world. Director Andrea Stewart made light of this in the film. She doesn’t sugarcoat it; she brings up the fact that there are not many education or employment opportunities, there’s a lot of crime and economic desperation. Through many of the experts that Stewart interviews, this team could shed some hope for the country economically as well as morally. The dogs and the mushers are trained in Jamaica before the mushers are sent to the United States to be trained further by more experts and to race. This is due to the quarantine laws of Jamaica which state that you can take a dog out of the country, but the dog cannot go back. So this was it. Through some complicated hurdles, the team quickly makes headlines, not just because they are from Jamaica, but from their fortitude to succeed. Devon is the head trainer and caretaker of the dogs. He is chosen to be the lead musher of the team because of his love of the animals. Newton, who is one of Devon’s workers, is also chosen to be on the team because of the love of the dogs and has a lot of motivation for the team. Both are trained by some of the best experts in bobsledding. Due to a sticky situation Devon is the one that remains to hold on to the pressure to succeed, the most pressure as he is the only one that represents Jamaica. Before long he is taken to Scotland for the international dogsled race. It is there that he and the team really makes a name for themselves all around the world just by forming a team and racing. Stewart did a great job on this film. The photography is great with shots on not only the beauty and the true life of Jamaica, but of the lives of the dogs and the people who lead these dogs to greatness. Though the film is not about the dogs themselves it is about the lives of the trainers and those who interact with them as well. You get a great aspect of what people deal with and grown up with in Jamaica which is not always pretty or glamorous as all the commercials on television depict it to be. The documentary also shows how these people love these dogs greatly. http://www.spout.com/blogs/the_american_dream/archive/2008/7/24/33047.aspx Post By: The_American_Dream
Post To: The_American_Dream Blog
Post Date: 7/24/2008 4:22:20 PM
Body: I suppose, there is not much keeping me from writing a review for this one where I try to make a case for both the good and bad aspects of it. But I am so inclined that "Sun Dogs" does not quite warrant that amount of open handedness to it. It is not easy to come down hard on a movie that was only just bad enough to come down hard on. What can I say, "Sun Dogs" just does not do it for me. It seeks to prove allot of things it seems; like how Jamaica can have a sled-dog team as much as any nation can, a documentary can be made about anything, and the under-dog (couldn't help it) story is never easy which is why so many movies have that as their theme. These themes are admirable but hard to inspire emotion over which is why "Sun Dogs" fails. Sure, Jamaica can have as many dogsled teams it wants. They all ready have their bobsled team. Obviously, "Cool Runnings" declares this story as Disney territory making "Sun Dogs" impossible to watch without reminding me how many times I saw "Cool Runnings" after school in second grade. A movie just cannot overcome something like "Cool Runnings" being before it, it makes the audience ask for originality from the filmmakers. I could not say that this is too bad because "Cool Runnings" has so much more than this movie, and "Cool Runnings" only has one narrative going, the ultimate goal of having a Jamaican bobsled team in the Olympics, that ultimate goal makes that movie go over a lot better. "Sun Dogs" really just chases its tail (again, couldn't help it) about starting a dogsled team. This not only poses a problem with a narrative line, but also manifests itself in the documentary aspect of "Sun Dogs". A documentary needs to have an amount of drama, or thesis. Something that can inspire tension through out. There is some tension in this movie, it lasts barely ten minutes and you have to have watched an hour of the movie to get it. This is a real flaw in this movie that a truly good documentary would not forget about. So when "Sun Dogs" takes it upon itself to make a social commentary on Jamaica (that is not the drama I was talking about early, I'll get to that later), but does nothing with the conclusions it draws, it looses itself to better documentaries. Finally, the story told here is only the most formulaic of all stories ever. Sure, every genre has a formula, but none so easy as the under-dog (there it is again) formula. Maybe if there was a bit more animosity against the team or within the team it would have been better. Just as formulaic but better. Once you've seen a movie like "Cool Runnings" you have seen "Sun Dogs". After watching that, one is forced to shrug their shoulders and ask "Why was that so important?". And sometimes it is to bad because despite its many failings, "Sun Dogs" has allot to do with dedicated and impassioned people. But there is not enough really good stuff to get "Sun Dogs" going. 90 Minutes Directed by Andrea Stewart Palm Pictures NR
]]>Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:22:20 GMTThe_American_DreamThe_American_Dream Blog7/24/2008 4:22:20 PMI suppose, there is not much keeping me from writing a review for this one where I try to make a case for both the good and bad aspects of it. But I am so inclined that "Sun Dogs" does not quite warrant that amount of open handedness to it. It is not easy to come down hard on a movie that was only just bad enough to come down hard on. What can I say, "Sun Dogs" just does not do it for me. It seeks to prove allot of things it seems; like how Jamaica can have a sled-dog team as much as any nation can, a documentary can be made about anything, and the under-dog (couldn't help it) story is never easy which is why so many movies have that as their theme. These themes are admirable but hard to inspire emotion over which is why "Sun Dogs" fails. Sure, Jamaica can have as many dogsled teams it wants. They all ready have their bobsled team. Obviously, "Cool Runnings" declares this story as Disney territory making "Sun Dogs" impossible to watch without reminding me how many times I saw "Cool Runnings" after school in second grade. A movie just cannot overcome something like "Cool Runnings" being before it, it makes the audience ask for originality from the filmmakers. I could not say that this is too bad because "Cool Runnings" has so much more than this movie, and "Cool Runnings" only has one narrative going, the ultimate goal of having a Jamaican bobsled team in the Olympics, that ultimate goal makes that movie go over a lot better. "Sun Dogs" really just chases its tail (again, couldn't help it) about starting a dogsled team. This not only poses a problem with a narrative line, but also manifests itself in the documentary aspect of "Sun Dogs". A documentary needs to have an amount of drama, or thesis. Something that can inspire tension through out. There is some tension in this movie, it lasts barely ten minutes and you have to have watched an hour of the movie to get it. This is a real flaw in this movie that a truly good documentary would not forget about. So when "Sun Dogs" takes it upon itself to make a social commentary on Jamaica (that is not the drama I was talking about early, I'll get to that later), but does nothing with the conclusions it draws, it looses itself to better documentaries. Finally, the story told here is only the most formulaic of all stories ever. Sure, every genre has a formula, but none so easy as the under-dog (there it is again) formula. Maybe if there was a bit more animosity against the team or within the team it would have been better. Just as formulaic but better. Once you've seen a movie like "Cool Runnings" you have seen "Sun Dogs". After watching that, one is forced to shrug their shoulders and ask "Why was that so important?". And sometimes it is to bad because despite its many failings, "Sun Dogs" has allot to do with dedicated and impassioned people. But there is not enough really good stuff to get "Sun Dogs" going. 90 Minutes Directed by Andrea Stewart Palm Pictures NR http://www.spout.com/blogs/tadiv/archive/2008/6/28/31832.aspx Post By: tadiv
Post To: tadiv Blog
Post Date: 6/28/2008 6:49:36 PM
Body: Palm Pictures in association with Dog Leg Media presents Sun Dogs, a movie directed and produced by Andrea Stewart. It includes several local Jamaican personalities and officials along with performer and sponsor of the team, Jimmy Buffett. Also featured is the brainchild of these projects (the Dog Sled Team and the movie), Danny Melville. Sun Dogs runs 90 minutes and is presented as not rated by the MPAA.Sun Dogs follows the development of the Jamaican Dog Sled team program. This program (the Dog Sled Team) is both a fund raiser and promotional tool for the island nation’s tourism economy. Following a documentary style, the movie introduces several players in the Dog Sled Team, and follows the training process and the people who will be the team’s competitive representatives.Sun Dogs is professionally filmed and edited. The production quality is sound and a review of the credits shows that Palm Pictures was involved early in the life of the project. The movie includes stock film components and except for an item that is clearly a promotional television advertisement for Jamaica, it is difficult to determine what shots are stock films and what was shot specifically for the film.The most profound thing I can write about Sun Dogs is that my Jack Russell Terrier, Buster, found the film very interesting. Such is always the case when dogs are presented on screen; so really it is not stating anything of much substance that he was interested. Early in this movie Danny Melville, the man behind the Dog Sled idea, comments that early in the development of the project he thought of a promotional film. At the time he was thinking of an animated film and some animated clips are a part of this movie, but they are not from Pixar as he originally envisioned. Instead, the animation is provided by a smaller house called Little Engine Moving Pictures. This movie seems to be the result of that original animated promotional film idea.Sun Dogs is fine for something to watch while passing the time, waiting for some more serious fare to become available, say Letters From Iwo Jima, for example. Its lack of an MPAA rating is no big deal – the producers probably did not want to pay any associated fees. Sun Dogs, much like a made-for-TV movie, is suitable for the entire family.
]]>Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:49:36 GMTtadivtadiv Blog6/28/2008 6:49:36 PMPalm Pictures in association with Dog Leg Media presents Sun Dogs, a movie directed and produced by Andrea Stewart. It includes several local Jamaican personalities and officials along with performer and sponsor of the team, Jimmy Buffett. Also featured is the brainchild of these projects (the Dog Sled Team and the movie), Danny Melville. Sun Dogs runs 90 minutes and is presented as not rated by the MPAA.Sun Dogs follows the development of the Jamaican Dog Sled team program. This program (the Dog Sled Team) is both a fund raiser and promotional tool for the island nation’s tourism economy. Following a documentary style, the movie introduces several players in the Dog Sled Team, and follows the training process and the people who will be the team’s competitive representatives.Sun Dogs is professionally filmed and edited. The production quality is sound and a review of the credits shows that Palm Pictures was involved early in the life of the project. The movie includes stock film components and except for an item that is clearly a promotional television advertisement for Jamaica, it is difficult to determine what shots are stock films and what was shot specifically for the film.The most profound thing I can write about Sun Dogs is that my Jack Russell Terrier, Buster, found the film very interesting. Such is always the case when dogs are presented on screen; so really it is not stating anything of much substance that he was interested. Early in this movie Danny Melville, the man behind the Dog Sled idea, comments that early in the development of the project he thought of a promotional film. At the time he was thinking of an animated film and some animated clips are a part of this movie, but they are not from Pixar as he originally envisioned. Instead, the animation is provided by a smaller house called Little Engine Moving Pictures. This movie seems to be the result of that original animated promotional film idea.Sun Dogs is fine for something to watch while passing the time, waiting for some more serious fare to become available, say Letters From Iwo Jima, for example. Its lack of an MPAA rating is no big deal – the producers probably did not want to pay any associated fees. Sun Dogs, much like a made-for-TV movie, is suitable for the entire family. http://www.spout.com/groups/Spout_Mavens/Re_Africa_Unite/366/30511/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: joem18b
Post To: Spout Mavens
Post Date: 6/4/2008 5:21:57 PM
Body: I felt like I could imagine the connection between Chris Blackwell (founder of Palm Pictures and early signer of Bob Marley) and Rita Marley and Africa Unite. The connection that interests me is the one between Blackwell and Danny Melville and Sun Dogs. I'd love to know whether making that movie was just about the $$$ (because the movie is a glorified commercial) or whether Blackwell did it for the good of Jamaica.
]]>Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:21:57 GMTjoem18bSpout Mavens6/4/2008 5:21:57 PMI felt like I could imagine the connection between Chris Blackwell (founder of Palm Pictures and early signer of Bob Marley) and Rita Marley and Africa Unite. The connection that interests me is the one between Blackwell and Danny Melville and Sun Dogs. I'd love to know whether making that movie was just about the $$$ (because the movie is a glorified commercial) or whether Blackwell did it for the good of Jamaica. http://www.spout.com/blogs/joem18b/archive/2008/3/28/26734.aspx Post By: joem18b
Post To: joem18b Blog
Post Date: 3/28/2008 10:03:51 PM
Body: Before beginning this review, a tip of the hat to sun dogs, aka parhelia, those common bright circular spots on a solar halo. Sun dogs are "an atmospheric optical phenomenon primarily associated with the reflection or refraction of sunlight by small ice crystals making up cirrus or cirrostratus clouds." Also, a little love for the Arizona Sundogs in the Central Hockey League and for a few favorite dog movies: snow dogs, rain dogs, desert dogs, moon dogs, straw dogs, stray dogs, reservoir dogs, dish dogs, lawn dogs, dead dogs, rabid dogs, chilly dogs, sleeping dogs, miracle dogs, road dogs, old dogs, dealing dogs, tap dogs, angry dogs, war dogs, catwalk dogs, deck dogs, top dogs, lost dogs, trinity dogs, urinoir dogs, bad dogs, barking dogs, fence dogs, devil dogs, gift dogs, good dogs, hot dogs, performing dogs, sea dogs, restricted dogs, society dogs, trained dogs, tokyo dogs, training dogs, wild dogs, zombie dogs, prairie dogs, and a dog's dog. And to note that Kingston is overrun with dogs. Dogs of all colors but of similar size. Dogs tough in body and in spirit; wary dogs, but not as wary as the cats; and hungry without exception. No other Caribbean island that I know of, and that includes the DR, has such a wealth of stray dogs. I don't remember seeing any at all on Trinidad or Barbados. There might be a thesis for someone in this. So. Sun Dogs. A documentary filmed in Jamaica, Minnesota, and Scotland. Stray dogs and huskies. Scenery. Socially responsible slum scenes. More scenery. Talking heads. Easy-listening and upbeat get-the-juices-flowing we're-having-fun it's-sunny-and-warm-down-here trust-what-you're watching Jamaican music. Accents. When is the last time you heard white folks talkin with heavy Jamaican accents? It's fun. More scenery. 90 minutes. First time out for the director of the film and for the director of photography. The director of photography did a swell job. About cynical movie reviews: The world is full of cynicism. It leaks into our lives. We can't avoid it. The demands of the 24/7 newscycle breed it, for example. In the world of cinema, a director starts out to make a movie - something caring and responsible, but also fun - a movie about saving a few strays, canine and human - a movie that might give Jamaica a little boost that it can surely use - and invariably some sorehead comes along and eyeballs the whole project and all the good work that it entails, and treats it as if it were some hack job with a (barely) hidden personal commercial agenda. If this sort of thing disturbs you as much as it does me, read no farther. Or further. But again, that beginning: Jamaica. Lush. A paradise. Happy tourists. But lots of poor Jamaicans. One of the poorest countries in the world. Wouldn't it be cool to gather up some stray dogs from the slums of Kingston and train them as sled dogs? There is a line between silly/stupid/entertaining and silly/stupid/toxic. Which side of that line are we on here? Assorted talking heads ensue, alternately dour and avuncular. "No harm done, no humans or animals injured during the making of this documentary. You will be entertained." Or, "Brudda, if you want a movie about the social ills of Jamaica, don't queue up a movie about dog sleds on wheels." Or is it that the first ten minutes of this movie are just utterly wrong? Is the director tone deaf? Is she oblivious to the dissonance created by juxtaposing a bunch of comfortable white guys talking about a crazy-but-fun idea with the sights and sounds of a nation of seriously freeped-up black Jamaicans? Saving a few strays who are left to represent the poor of the island by doing a little cart-pulling? Is this film like a movie made in a veteran's hospital, forgetting the amputees and brain-damaged patients while focusing on the pigeon-racing project out back? Is it like working for PETA in the middle of a holocaust? That is, is this a priority thing? Not to say that you can't collect stamps during a genocide, but if you want to make a philately documentary, please leave the death camps out of it. Whoa. Let's not go off the deep end here. Instead, let's just ignore the intro and restart 10 minutes in. But, no. At 20 minutes, we're back into it. The dogs go to school. Segue to problems with the education of children in Jamaica. Talking heads. But, hey, a lot of great closeups and, as mentioned above, I realize that I can't remember ever hearing heavy in-country Jamaican accents falling from Caucasian lips. It's like grandma acting rasta. Different. And horseback riding. Diverting. So just watch the damn movie and worry about the poor later? Take the ride? Dog interest, musher training, social conditions on the island, sledding as sport, Carribean history. A Jamaican pu pu platter of subjects. Sigh. I paused the movie to take a minute to find out who is who or whom here and why I should care, and why instead of righting social wrongs these old white guys are fooling around with dog sleds on wheels. In other words, sadly, I decided to follow the money. Some years ago, businessman Danny Melville (a guy with a John McCain vibe, I thought), the first old white guy to speak in the movie, tripped over a metal frame with wheels in a fabrication shop in Edmonton, Canada, while shopping for dune buggies. An employee in the shop told him that the thing was a snowless dog sled. Warm-weather dog sledding is picking up around the world because of global warming - rig racing, canicross, dog scootering, bikejoring - an ecological silver lining. Refer to my reviw of Out of Balance for more good news along these lines. Anyway, the notion of a Jamaican dog sled team came to Melville on the spot, as he tells it. With the success and noteriety of the Jamaican bobsled team in mind (Cool Runnings, the Calgary Olympics), Melville swung into action. We see him for the first time in Sun Dogs at the beginning of the movie, his idea implemented, dogcarts in action. Following that quick, upbeat, life-is-good montage of beautiful scenery and happy poverty-stricken island inhabitants that I noted, with a rousing Jamaican beat urging us to jump up and dance, Melville speaks with great earnestness about this crazy sled-dog idea of his, and then Jimmy Buffet pops up to endorse him, with a quick cut to Buffett performing in front of a crowd of ten thousand or so, to remind us that this isn't some washed-up bum we're listening to, so pay attention. Then quick shots of endearing mutts in harness, with folks cheering them along in some unknown sunny context, a woman getting her shirt autographed by Buffet, dog urinating on tourist, so forth. Melville, sitting by the dog pens in a casual open-necked shirt, a personable sincere old duffer with a neat white beard, tells us that his plans include touring dog teams, sled racing, and promoting Jamaica to the hilt. "Sustainable" teams, that is, which means that they're to pay their own way, mutts or not. Melville tells us that he also had the idea of making a movie about the dogs, the day after he had the idea of starting the sled dog project - a feature-length cartoon, maybe, with Jamaican mutts racing against Russian Mafia huskies, something for Disney Pixar to implement. That would work! Samples of such a cartoon are cut in throughout Sun Dogs. Behind Melville in the frame, folks mill about in a country setting. Jamaica must project itself into the world, the dog sleds will help, so forth, Melville tells us. He's a loquacious guy. Brand Jamaica. 2.5 million visitors a year. More shots of happy people, turquoise water. But then serious talk by the government's national image-and-identity advisor: the country and the people don't benefit from the tourist proceeds; annual revenues are funneled into the pockets of others, others who remain unnamed by the advisor onscreen; we presume that offshore leisure-based corporations and the upper-tier Jamaican rich figure into this. Next a serious word from the executive director of Jamaicans for Justice, Dr. Carolyn Gomes. "We're the best at what we do, be it criminality or murder." Deadpan. Next a serious word from a member of the bobsled team. Then serious words from Wilmot Perkins, talk-show host and perhaps the strongest public voice regarding the dysfunctional understanding, behavior, and social problems between races on the island. Gist: Jamaicans are bright, energetic, full of promise, but led astray. Shots of bright, energetic, but glowering poor citizens in the slums. Then all of this again, with similar but different words. Melville deplores the situation along with the rest. The music has become exceedingly somber by now. Somber. Then Melville explains that the dog sled project is just another zany idea of his, so that people will shake their heads and say Jamaica! (Ok, this makes no sense, but the man is just riffing.) And people will say, Why didn't I think of that! (That is, "Melville has scored another win.") Now the music picks up again. Jamaica! And with the music appears a shot of the sign at the entrance to Melville's Chukka Cove. Adventure Tours. Experience the Real Jamaica! Danny Melville's dad bought Tropical Battery back when Jamaica was protected from U.S. companies by high tariffs. The company manufactured vehicle batteries and enjoyed a monopoly on the island. When the tariffs began to be removed, the Melvilles left the island, with only Danny remaining to run the business, which in due course went downhill as the competition moved in. Melville also purchased 50 acres of undeveloped land in St. Ann in the early 80s and subsequently started an equestrian center at Chukka Cove. He hoped to lure dressage and polo enthusiasts away from Argentina and the UK, but failed. At this point he contacted his sons, away at school in Florida, and told them that he could sell everything or they could come back and help him try to save the businesses. Andrew and Mark returned to the island and joined the company. Long story short: the battery company switched from manufacture to import and bounced back, and the family got into the soft adventure business. If you've ever been on a cruise, you're familiar with soft adventures. You get a great price on the cruise itself, but hopefully you've factored additional costs into your vacation budget, because at each port you're confronted with a variety of extra fun activities, each at a sometimes-fancy price. If you've tubed or taken a canopy tour or rode a horse on Jamaica or in the Dominican or Belize or various other locations, there's a good chance you've paid the Melvilles something for the privilege. Expansion. Gaming machines. Evolving relationships with cruise lines. 500 or so horses. 500 or so employees. Over a billion a year in revenues from a number of interlocking companies shared with long-time business partners, and that's not counting the auto-supply business. See, the thing is, I'm sitting here remembering the ruined wreck of a home at the edge of the Yaque river where it curls through Santiago in the Dominican Republic. Santiago is the DR's second-largest city. On December 11 in the early morning, as hurricane Olga brushed the island, Tavera dam workers upriver decided to open all six floodgates, fearing a dam failure that could kill thousands in Santiago. This sent 1.6 million gallons of water/second into the river.The lives of the family of ten living in the house that I visited were snuffed out by the water roaring downstream in the dead of night. And the members of that family weren't the only casualties. For months after that night, folks have come to the edge of the cliff above, standing along Av. Mirador del Yaque to look down on the wreckage below. For many of the poor, it was no more than luck that they lived far enough from the river's edge to escape drowning. This was the second time in the year that this happened. I spoke to more than one upper-class resident of Santiago who, privately of course, were not sorry to see the mostly ramshackle buildings along the river washed away, along with the poor living in them. If a movie, documentary or otherwise, wants to add footage meant to raise the consciousness of viewers about the plight of so many in the Caribbean, whether the film be documentary or drama or cartoon or science-fiction flick about life on Venus, I for one will cut it some slack. I will not say "Ok, I get it. Move on." However, if the footage is doing no more than wrapping one more big-business vacuum cleaner for middle-class dollars in a flag of righteousness, then burn the film. I found plenty to savor in Sun Dogs: young men conversing quietly in a lilting Jamaican English that almost required subtitles; the enlistment of Newton, a poor young man living in a tin shack, to be a musher; Newton applying for a passport; Newton visiting Twig, Minnesota in the winter, to see snow for the first time and to learn about real dog sleds and sledding; Newton eating a fig newton; Jamaican music in the snowy north; Newton learning to drive and later taking his boss' car without permission, totaling it, and being banished, sent back to sit on the plank in front of his shack; the enlistment of Devon Anderson, then, to train as Jamaica's first musher, getting the dog sled 101 crash course from sledding experts from Twig; serious Scots commenting seriously on Anderson, over to Scotland from his island to theirs to compete in his first sled race and to win the "Came the Farthest" prize; Anderson at the end of his race exhausted with one dog from his team out of harness and on the sled tucked into an emergency dog bag; first class photography, great color, great closeups; driving around Jamaica on the wrong side of the road; a call to renowned dog sled trainer Alan Stewart in Scotland; and, of course, the recruitment and training of the dogs. Several dogs picked out at the pound. The dogs' names appear onscreen in big yellow letters - so that you can remember to ask for them when you come down? Scenes of the dogs being introduced to the dogcarts and other wheeled conveyances that they will pull. Benji the scared hound. The biggest dog, who doesn't relate to the other dogs. I remember hearing once that if a dog doesn't learn social skills early, it can't learn them later. Guess that doesn't apply to this big dog, because apparently he does, after first gnawing one or two of his mates. The last movie that I reviewed as a Spout Maven was Africa Unite, a Palm Pictures documentary in which the Marley family journeys from Jamaica to Africa in search of peace and/or treasure. Sun Dogs is also a Palm Pictures documentary, wherein stray dogs replace the Marleys but remain in Kingston. Chris Blackwell, the founder and head of Palm Pictures, and David Koh, head of acquisitions and production, negotiated the financial terms of the movie with Andrea Stewart and Danny Melville. Stewart produced as well as directed. Blackwell, Koh, Leigh Ingleby, and Melville were the executive producers (i.e., they put up the money). Palm Pictures nailed down all worldwide rights to the movie. The rumor is that the third film in this Jamaican documentary trilogy, nearing completion, is Spawn of Love, about the homeless illegitimate children fathered by rich white men vacationing at island resorts and sneaking away from their spouses at night for a few moments of forbidden love. Sign me up for the trifecta! Blackwell also founded Island Records back in 1960 (he's 71) and signed up an unknown Bob Marley, earning a reputation as the man responsible for the popularity of reggae. I didn't deal with the question of personal financial gain in the case of the Marleys and Africa Unite, although some other reviewers did. At the time, I was more interested in the dynamics of holding a conference meant to be liberal and democratic in an illiberal country. If I had examined the financial aspects of Africa Unite and the movie's effect on future iterations of the event, I might have mentioned that after the first edition of it in Addis Ababa, in October, a Ghanaian delegation came to Jamaica to discuss business opportunities between the two countries. Alexander Melville attended the talks and the second Africa Unite was held in Ghana four months later. However, I'm not aware of any other particular connections between Melville and Blackwell, which might argue for taking Sun Dogs as a fun movie and letting it go at that. Danny Melville started Chukka Caribbean Adventures in 1983. It's now the largest land-based nature adventure tour provider in the region, offering more than thirty tours in Jamaica, The Bahamas, Belize, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The business sells more than a quarter of a million adventure tours to cruise and hotel guests every year, including canopy tours over the jungle, mountain-to-sea cycling, river kayaking, a horseback ride and swim, and a Bob Marley retrospective bus trip. Plus, of course, the Jamaica dog sled Experience. "With a commitment to deliver the highest quality tours with well-trained guides and stringent safety standards, Chukka takes pride in showcasing the natural beauty of the Caribbean through unique and sensational experiences and providing opportunities for local residents and businesses." (chukkacaribbean.com) Chukka Cove, where it all started, caters to horse lovers who stay on the estate's landscaped grounds, near the stables. There are six two-bedroom villas, each suitable for four guests, each with a veranda, plank floors, and the feel of Old-Country gentry. Meals are prepared for you on-site. Nickering, and presumably barking, can be heard through open bedroom windows in the moonlight. The Melvilles are businessmen and make no bones about the fact. When Danny had the sleddog idea, he approached the thing as a money-making proposition from the start and is clear about that throughout the film. "It's good business," he says. (N.b., I'm paraphrasing these quotes from memory and notes.) "We've got an unexploited brand. If we can be successful, like the Jamaican bobsled team, the tourists will become ambassadors for us." (Here in the movie a quick clip of the bobsled team, stars of the 1988 Calgary Olympics.) "You know, you have to believe in it and dive into it wholeheartedly. Tourists will go home and say, 'I went dog sledding in Jamaica!' Of course I hope to make a profit: the Jamaica Dog Sled Experience. Our dogs come from the local pound - because, you know, if Jamaica didn't have the image of being crime-ridden, violent, and poor, it would fly. So, dog sleds pulled by strays, after they've been neutered and vaccinated for rabies, that's the good news. Listen, after Devon's first race, we were in the Indian newspaper. We were in the Australian newspaper." Tourists trot past on Melville horses. Guests first receive an orientation on sled-dog racing and how the Jamaican team was formed. They also get a lecture on the stray situation in Jamaica. (A percentage of the tour fee goes to the JSPCA.) Finally, visitors get to meet, hug and pet the dogs and learn their personal stories before receiving instruction on mushing technique and heading out on the three-kilometer trail around Chukka Cove Farm. "This is going to help the dogs because you'll soon have everybody wanting to get a dog to train them to pull a sled or cart," says musher Anderson, standing with dogs milling around his ankles. "And eventually, we'll get rid of the stray dogs on the street." 20 down and 35,000 to go. "The Jamaica Dog Sled Encounter at Chukka Caribbean Adventures, home to the only dog sled team and dog sled tours in the Caribbean, is offering children between 6 and 12 years a complimentary Jamaica Dog sled Encounter, with one child free per paying adult. The tour includes a visit to Dunn's River Falls, and to Island Village for shopping, plus complimentary lunch at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville." Bottom line on the movie, if not the tour: If you're more interested in the dogs in particular, or the mushers learning about and training with the dogs, or social and economic conditions on the island, or the physical aspects of the island itself, or the sport of dog sledding, or Caribbean history in general, to the exclusion of interest in the other elements of the movie, then you will not get much of what you crave and will probably feel impatient, dissatisfied, and that your time has been misspent. On the other hand, if your interest runs to the conception, inception, nuture, and support of a fledgling business, then the dogs, mushers, and scenery provide a little spice, or spoonfuls of sugar, to the business; that is, as aids in getting you to hear, learn, and internalize the root message, or hook. Stewart might have been making her first feature-length film, but her backers knew exactly what they wanted and what they needed from the film and there is no doubt that they vetted her work every step of the way to make sure that they got what they wanted. A little local color; a story line that takes you out behind your resort hotel room and not to the Iditarod; a little upbeat music; a break from the intensity of Rick Steves; a story arc of "Dogs learn to pull sled -> Come down and ride on one," not "Dogs learn to pull sled -> Compete and win/lose." I thought about calling the director about this movie and asking her where her head was at when she made it, and how much "input" she got from Melville and Blackwell and Koh, and Leigh Ingleby (audio-visual interests and arts funding), but I didn't because I'm conflict-shy and a question like that might really piss her off. Instead, I called Dr. Gomes at Jamaicans For Justice. She impressed me in the movie and I felt that I could trust her answers. I missed her twice at her office but she was kind enough to return my calls. After a few introductory niceties, I asked her if she had seen Sun Dogs. She had. I told her that I was calling with one question in mind, namely, that although the film raised some questions about social justice and poverty in Jamaica, it struck me more simply as a commercial for one more "Caribbean adventure" from a large leisure company, an adventure which, so far as I could tell at present, hasn't materially aided the poor of the country. So, Were the sun dogs in fact, in her view, of some use as a pro-social force on the island? It took a while for me to get all that out. She listened in silence and her reply, as it struck me, was stony. She said that she had consented to be interviewed for the film and that she had answered the questions put to her to the best of her ability. Period. No love shown by Dr. Gomes for the sun dogs. So come on down for a ride ($100 adults, $76 children, or $352 plus tax for a family of four if you don't find a coupon to use in advance, or buy a package of adventures). The dogs pull in, say, $1000 an hour, ten hours a day, 350 days a year, two sites. A modest $7 mil a year. Overhead costs: kibble. An unknown percentage of the net returned to the JSPCA, which from the looks of it hasn't been spending it on glitz at the pound. The ride is a nice addition to the many adventures in many locales that help put the Melville enterprises over the billion-a-year mark. We can hope that Newton is not still sitting on his plank down at his tin shack. If you do decide to go on down and stay at Chukka Cove Farm, you'll know what to expect after watching this movie. The north-central coast of Jamaica. Turquoise ocean. Lush hills. Magnificent waterfalls. Cool mountain rivers. The poor of the island changing your sheets and refilling your wine glass at dinner. Good. I got all the way through the review without using the word "infomercial."
]]>Sat, 29 Mar 2008 02:03:51 GMTjoem18bjoem18b Blog3/28/2008 10:03:51 PMBefore beginning this review, a tip of the hat to sun dogs, aka parhelia, those common bright circular spots on a solar halo. Sun dogs are "an atmospheric optical phenomenon primarily associated with the reflection or refraction of sunlight by small ice crystals making up cirrus or cirrostratus clouds." Also, a little love for the Arizona Sundogs in the Central Hockey League and for a few favorite dog movies: snow dogs, rain dogs, desert dogs, moon dogs, straw dogs, stray dogs, reservoir dogs, dish dogs, lawn dogs, dead dogs, rabid dogs, chilly dogs, sleeping dogs, miracle dogs, road dogs, old dogs, dealing dogs, tap dogs, angry dogs, war dogs, catwalk dogs, deck dogs, top dogs, lost dogs, trinity dogs, urinoir dogs, bad dogs, barking dogs, fence dogs, devil dogs, gift dogs, good dogs, hot dogs, performing dogs, sea dogs, restricted dogs, society dogs, trained dogs, tokyo dogs, training dogs, wild dogs, zombie dogs, prairie dogs, and a dog's dog. And to note that Kingston is overrun with dogs. Dogs of all colors but of similar size. Dogs tough in body and in spirit; wary dogs, but not as wary as the cats; and hungry without exception. No other Caribbean island that I know of, and that includes the DR, has such a wealth of stray dogs. I don't remember seeing any at all on Trinidad or Barbados. There might be a thesis for someone in this. So. Sun Dogs. A documentary filmed in Jamaica, Minnesota, and Scotland. Stray dogs and huskies. Scenery. Socially responsible slum scenes. More scenery. Talking heads. Easy-listening and upbeat get-the-juices-flowing we're-having-fun it's-sunny-and-warm-down-here trust-what-you're watching Jamaican music. Accents. When is the last time you heard white folks talkin with heavy Jamaican accents? It's fun. More scenery. 90 minutes. First time out for the director of the film and for the director of photography. The director of photography did a swell job. About cynical movie reviews: The world is full of cynicism. It leaks into our lives. We can't avoid it. The demands of the 24/7 newscycle breed it, for example. In the world of cinema, a director starts out to make a movie - something caring and responsible, but also fun - a movie about saving a few strays, canine and human - a movie that might give Jamaica a little boost that it can surely use - and invariably some sorehead comes along and eyeballs the whole project and all the good work that it entails, and treats it as if it were some hack job with a (barely) hidden personal commercial agenda. If this sort of thing disturbs you as much as it does me, read no farther. Or further. But again, that beginning: Jamaica. Lush. A paradise. Happy tourists. But lots of poor Jamaicans. One of the poorest countries in the world. Wouldn't it be cool to gather up some stray dogs from the slums of Kingston and train them as sled dogs? There is a line between silly/stupid/entertaining and silly/stupid/toxic. Which side of that line are we on here? Assorted talking heads ensue, alternately dour and avuncular. "No harm done, no humans or animals injured during the making of this documentary. You will be entertained." Or, "Brudda, if you want a movie about the social ills of Jamaica, don't queue up a movie about dog sleds on wheels." Or is it that the first ten minutes of this movie are just utterly wrong? Is the director tone deaf? Is she oblivious to the dissonance created by juxtaposing a bunch of comfortable white guys talking about a crazy-but-fun idea with the sights and sounds of a nation of seriously freeped-up black Jamaicans? Saving a few strays who are left to represent the poor of the island by doing a little cart-pulling? Is this film like a movie made in a veteran's hospital, forgetting the amputees and brain-damaged patients while focusing on the pigeon-racing project out back? Is it like working for PETA in the middle of a holocaust? That is, is this a priority thing? Not to say that you can't collect stamps during a genocide, but if you want to make a philately documentary, please leave the death camps out of it. Whoa. Let's not go off the deep end here. Instead, let's just ignore the intro and restart 10 minutes in. But, no. At 20 minutes, we're back into it. The dogs go to school. Segue to problems with the education of children in Jamaica. Talking heads. But, hey, a lot of great closeups and, as mentioned above, I realize that I can't remember ever hearing heavy in-country Jamaican accents falling from Caucasian lips. It's like grandma acting rasta. Different. And horseback riding. Diverting. So just watch the damn movie and worry about the poor later? Take the ride? Dog interest, musher training, social conditions on the island, sledding as sport, Carribean history. A Jamaican pu pu platter of subjects. Sigh. I paused the movie to take a minute to find out who is who or whom here and why I should care, and why instead of righting social wrongs these old white guys are fooling around with dog sleds on wheels. In other words, sadly, I decided to follow the money. Some years ago, businessman Danny Melville (a guy with a John McCain vibe, I thought), the first old white guy to speak in the movie, tripped over a metal frame with wheels in a fabrication shop in Edmonton, Canada, while shopping for dune buggies. An employee in the shop told him that the thing was a snowless dog sled. Warm-weather dog sledding is picking up around the world because of global warming - rig racing, canicross, dog scootering, bikejoring - an ecological silver lining. Refer to my reviw of Out of Balance for more good news along these lines. Anyway, the notion of a Jamaican dog sled team came to Melville on the spot, as he tells it. With the success and noteriety of the Jamaican bobsled team in mind (Cool Runnings, the Calgary Olympics), Melville swung into action. We see him for the first time in Sun Dogs at the beginning of the movie, his idea implemented, dogcarts in action. Following that quick, upbeat, life-is-good montage of beautiful scenery and happy poverty-stricken island inhabitants that I noted, with a rousing Jamaican beat urging us to jump up and dance, Melville speaks with great earnestness about this crazy sled-dog idea of his, and then Jimmy Buffet pops up to endorse him, with a quick cut to Buffett performing in front of a crowd of ten thousand or so, to remind us that this isn't some washed-up bum we're listening to, so pay attention. Then quick shots of endearing mutts in harness, with folks cheering them along in some unknown sunny context, a woman getting her shirt autographed by Buffet, dog urinating on tourist, so forth. Melville, sitting by the dog pens in a casual open-necked shirt, a personable sincere old duffer with a neat white beard, tells us that his plans include touring dog teams, sled racing, and promoting Jamaica to the hilt. "Sustainable" teams, that is, which means that they're to pay their own way, mutts or not. Melville tells us that he also had the idea of making a movie about the dogs, the day after he had the idea of starting the sled dog project - a feature-length cartoon, maybe, with Jamaican mutts racing against Russian Mafia huskies, something for Disney Pixar to implement. That would work! Samples of such a cartoon are cut in throughout Sun Dogs. Behind Melville in the frame, folks mill about in a country setting. Jamaica must project itself into the world, the dog sleds will help, so forth, Melville tells us. He's a loquacious guy. Brand Jamaica. 2.5 million visitors a year. More shots of happy people, turquoise water. But then serious talk by the government's national image-and-identity advisor: the country and the people don't benefit from the tourist proceeds; annual revenues are funneled into the pockets of others, others who remain unnamed by the advisor onscreen; we presume that offshore leisure-based corporations and the upper-tier Jamaican rich figure into this. Next a serious word from the executive director of Jamaicans for Justice, Dr. Carolyn Gomes. "We're the best at what we do, be it criminality or murder." Deadpan. Next a serious word from a member of the bobsled team. Then serious words from Wilmot Perkins, talk-show host and perhaps the strongest public voice regarding the dysfunctional understanding, behavior, and social problems between races on the island. Gist: Jamaicans are bright, energetic, full of promise, but led astray. Shots of bright, energetic, but glowering poor citizens in the slums. Then all of this again, with similar but different words. Melville deplores the situation along with the rest. The music has become exceedingly somber by now. Somber. Then Melville explains that the dog sled project is just another zany idea of his, so that people will shake their heads and say Jamaica! (Ok, this makes no sense, but the man is just riffing.) And people will say, Why didn't I think of that! (That is, "Melville has scored another win.") Now the music picks up again. Jamaica! And with the music appears a shot of the sign at the entrance to Melville's Chukka Cove. Adventure Tours. Experience the Real Jamaica! Danny Melville's dad bought Tropical Battery back when Jamaica was protected from U.S. companies by high tariffs. The company manufactured vehicle batteries and enjoyed a monopoly on the island. When the tariffs began to be removed, the Melvilles left the island, with only Danny remaining to run the business, which in due course went downhill as the competition moved in. Melville also purchased 50 acres of undeveloped land in St. Ann in the early 80s and subsequently started an equestrian center at Chukka Cove. He hoped to lure dressage and polo enthusiasts away from Argentina and the UK, but failed. At this point he contacted his sons, away at school in Florida, and told them that he could sell everything or they could come back and help him try to save the businesses. Andrew and Mark returned to the island and joined the company. Long story short: the battery company switched from manufacture to import and bounced back, and the family got into the soft adventure business. If you've ever been on a cruise, you're familiar with soft adventures. You get a great price on the cruise itself, but hopefully you've factored additional costs into your vacation budget, because at each port you're confronted with a variety of extra fun activities, each at a sometimes-fancy price. If you've tubed or taken a canopy tour or rode a horse on Jamaica or in the Dominican or Belize or various other locations, there's a good chance you've paid the Melvilles something for the privilege. Expansion. Gaming machines. Evolving relationships with cruise lines. 500 or so horses. 500 or so employees. Over a billion a year in revenues from a number of interlocking companies shared with long-time business partners, and that's not counting the auto-supply business. See, the thing is, I'm sitting here remembering the ruined wreck of a home at the edge of the Yaque river where it curls through Santiago in the Dominican Republic. Santiago is the DR's second-largest city. On December 11 in the early morning, as hurricane Olga brushed the island, Tavera dam workers upriver decided to open all six floodgates, fearing a dam failure that could kill thousands in Santiago. This sent 1.6 million gallons of water/second into the river.The lives of the family of ten living in the house that I visited were snuffed out by the water roaring downstream in the dead of night. And the members of that family weren't the only casualties. For months after that night, folks have come to the edge of the cliff above, standing along Av. Mirador del Yaque to look down on the wreckage below. For many of the poor, it was no more than luck that they lived far enough from the river's edge to escape drowning. This was the second time in the year that this happened. I spoke to more than one upper-class resident of Santiago who, privately of course, were not sorry to see the mostly ramshackle buildings along the river washed away, along with the poor living in them. If a movie, documentary or otherwise, wants to add footage meant to raise the consciousness of viewers about the plight of so many in the Caribbean, whether the film be documentary or drama or cartoon or science-fiction flick about life on Venus, I for one will cut it some slack. I will not say "Ok, I get it. Move on." However, if the footage is doing no more than wrapping one more big-business vacuum cleaner for middle-class dollars in a flag of righteousness, then burn the film. I found plenty to savor in Sun Dogs: young men conversing quietly in a lilting Jamaican English that almost required subtitles; the enlistment of Newton, a poor young man living in a tin shack, to be a musher; Newton applying for a passport; Newton visiting Twig, Minnesota in the winter, to see snow for the first time and to learn about real dog sleds and sledding; Newton eating a fig newton; Jamaican music in the snowy north; Newton learning to drive and later taking his boss' car without permission, totaling it, and being banished, sent back to sit on the plank in front of his shack; the enlistment of Devon Anderson, then, to train as Jamaica's first musher, getting the dog sled 101 crash course from sledding experts from Twig; serious Scots commenting seriously on Anderson, over to Scotland from his island to theirs to compete in his first sled race and to win the "Came the Farthest" prize; Anderson at the end of his race exhausted with one dog from his team out of harness and on the sled tucked into an emergency dog bag; first class photography, great color, great closeups; driving around Jamaica on the wrong side of the road; a call to renowned dog sled trainer Alan Stewart in Scotland; and, of course, the recruitment and training of the dogs. Several dogs picked out at the pound. The dogs' names appear onscreen in big yellow letters - so that you can remember to ask for them when you come down? Scenes of the dogs being introduced to the dogcarts and other wheeled conveyances that they will pull. Benji the scared hound. The biggest dog, who doesn't relate to the other dogs. I remember hearing once that if a dog doesn't learn social skills early, it can't learn them later. Guess that doesn't apply to this big dog, because apparently he does, after first gnawing one or two of his mates. The last movie that I reviewed as a Spout Maven was Africa Unite, a Palm Pictures documentary in which the Marley family journeys from Jamaica to Africa in search of peace and/or treasure. Sun Dogs is also a Palm Pictures documentary, wherein stray dogs replace the Marleys but remain in Kingston. Chris Blackwell, the founder and head of Palm Pictures, and David Koh, head of acquisitions and production, negotiated the financial terms of the movie with Andrea Stewart and Danny Melville. Stewart produced as well as directed. Blackwell, Koh, Leigh Ingleby, and Melville were the executive producers (i.e., they put up the money). Palm Pictures nailed down all worldwide rights to the movie. The rumor is that the third film in this Jamaican documentary trilogy, nearing completion, is Spawn of Love, about the homeless illegitimate children fathered by rich white men vacationing at island resorts and sneaking away from their spouses at night for a few moments of forbidden love. Sign me up for the trifecta! Blackwell also founded Island Records back in 1960 (he's 71) and signed up an unknown Bob Marley, earning a reputation as the man responsible for the popularity of reggae. I didn't deal with the question of personal financial gain in the case of the Marleys and Africa Unite, although some other reviewers did. At the time, I was more interested in the dynamics of holding a conference meant to be liberal and democratic in an illiberal country. If I had examined the financial aspects of Africa Unite and the movie's effect on future iterations of the event, I might have mentioned that after the first edition of it in Addis Ababa, in October, a Ghanaian delegation came to Jamaica to discuss business opportunities between the two countries. Alexander Melville attended the talks and the second Africa Unite was held in Ghana four months later. However, I'm not aware of any other particular connections between Melville and Blackwell, which might argue for taking Sun Dogs as a fun movie and letting it go at that. Danny Melville started Chukka Caribbean Adventures in 1983. It's now the largest land-based nature adventure tour provider in the region, offering more than thirty tours in Jamaica, The Bahamas, Belize, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The business sells more than a quarter of a million adventure tours to cruise and hotel guests every year, including canopy tours over the jungle, mountain-to-sea cycling, river kayaking, a horseback ride and swim, and a Bob Marley retrospective bus trip. Plus, of course, the Jamaica dog sled Experience. "With a commitment to deliver the highest quality tours with well-trained guides and stringent safety standards, Chukka takes pride in showcasing the natural beauty of the Caribbean through unique and sensational experiences and providing opportunities for local residents and businesses." (chukkacaribbean.com) Chukka Cove, where it all started, caters to horse lovers who stay on the estate's landscaped grounds, near the stables. There are six two-bedroom villas, each suitable for four guests, each with a veranda, plank floors, and the feel of Old-Country gentry. Meals are prepared for you on-site. Nickering, and presumably barking, can be heard through open bedroom windows in the moonlight. The Melvilles are businessmen and make no bones about the fact. When Danny had the sleddog idea, he approached the thing as a money-making proposition from the start and is clear about that throughout the film. "It's good business," he says. (N.b., I'm paraphrasing these quotes from memory and notes.) "We've got an unexploited brand. If we can be successful, like the Jamaican bobsled team, the tourists will become ambassadors for us." (Here in the movie a quick clip of the bobsled team, stars of the 1988 Calgary Olympics.) "You know, you have to believe in it and dive into it wholeheartedly. Tourists will go home and say, 'I went dog sledding in Jamaica!' Of course I hope to make a profit: the Jamaica Dog Sled Experience. Our dogs come from the local pound - because, you know, if Jamaica didn't have the image of being crime-ridden, violent, and poor, it would fly. So, dog sleds pulled by strays, after they've been neutered and vaccinated for rabies, that's the good news. Listen, after Devon's first race, we were in the Indian newspaper. We were in the Australian newspaper." Tourists trot past on Melville horses. Guests first receive an orientation on sled-dog racing and how the Jamaican team was formed. They also get a lecture on the stray situation in Jamaica. (A percentage of the tour fee goes to the JSPCA.) Finally, visitors get to meet, hug and pet the dogs and learn their personal stories before receiving instruction on mushing technique and heading out on the three-kilometer trail around Chukka Cove Farm. "This is going to help the dogs because you'll soon have everybody wanting to get a dog to train them to pull a sled or cart," says musher Anderson, standing with dogs milling around his ankles. "And eventually, we'll get rid of the stray dogs on the street." 20 down and 35,000 to go. "The Jamaica Dog Sled Encounter at Chukka Caribbean Adventures, home to the only dog sled team and dog sled tours in the Caribbean, is offering children between 6 and 12 years a complimentary Jamaica Dog sled Encounter, with one child free per paying adult. The tour includes a visit to Dunn's River Falls, and to Island Village for shopping, plus complimentary lunch at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville." Bottom line on the movie, if not the tour: If you're more interested in the dogs in particular, or the mushers learning about and training with the dogs, or social and economic conditions on the island, or the physical aspects of the island itself, or the sport of dog sledding, or Caribbean history in general, to the exclusion of interest in the other elements of the movie, then you will not get much of what you crave and will probably feel impatient, dissatisfied, and that your time has been misspent. On the other hand, if your interest runs to the conception, inception, nuture, and support of a fledgling business, then the dogs, mushers, and scenery provide a little spice, or spoonfuls of sugar, to the business; that is, as aids in getting you to hear, learn, and internalize the root message, or hook. Stewart might have been making her first feature-length film, but her backers knew exactly what they wanted and what they needed from the film and there is no doubt that they vetted her work every step of the way to make sure that they got what they wanted. A little local color; a story line that takes you out behind your resort hotel room and not to the Iditarod; a little upbeat music; a break from the intensity of Rick Steves; a story arc of "Dogs learn to pull sled -> Come down and ride on one," not "Dogs learn to pull sled -> Compete and win/lose." I thought about calling the director about this movie and asking her where her head was at when she made it, and how much "input" she got from Melville and Blackwell and Koh, and Leigh Ingleby (audio-visual interests and arts funding), but I didn't because I'm conflict-shy and a question like that might really piss her off. Instead, I called Dr. Gomes at Jamaicans For Justice. She impressed me in the movie and I felt that I could trust her answers. I missed her twice at her office but she was kind enough to return my calls. After a few introductory niceties, I asked her if she had seen Sun Dogs. She had. I told her that I was calling with one question in mind, namely, that although the film raised some questions about social justice and poverty in Jamaica, it struck me more simply as a commercial for one more "Caribbean adventure" from a large leisure company, an adventure which, so far as I could tell at present, hasn't materially aided the poor of the country. So, Were the sun dogs in fact, in her view, of some use as a pro-social force on the island? It took a while for me to get all that out. She listened in silence and her reply, as it struck me, was stony. She said that she had consented to be interviewed for the film and that she had answered the questions put to her to the best of her ability. Period. No love shown by Dr. Gomes for the sun dogs. So come on down for a ride ($100 adults, $76 children, or $352 plus tax for a family of four if you don't find a coupon to use in advance, or buy a package of adventures). The dogs pull in, say, $1000 an hour, ten hours a day, 350 days a year, two sites. A modest $7 mil a year. Overhead costs: kibble. An unknown percentage of the net returned to the JSPCA, which from the looks of it hasn't been spending it on glitz at the pound. The ride is a nice addition to the many adventures in many locales that help put the Melville enterprises over the billion-a-year mark. We can hope that Newton is not still sitting on his plank down at his tin shack. If you do decide to go on down and stay at Chukka Cove Farm, you'll know what to expect after watching this movie. The north-central coast of Jamaica. Turquoise ocean. Lush hills. Magnificent waterfalls. Cool mountain rivers. The poor of the island changing your sheets and refilling your wine glass at dinner. Good. I got all the way through the review without using the word "infomercial." http://www.spout.com/blogs/analogzombie/archive/2007/11/15/21720.aspx Post By: analogzombie
Post To: analogzombie Blog
Post Date: 11/15/2007 10:12:13 PM
Body: Sun Dogs is the story of a rag tag group coming together to create Jamaica’s very first dog sled team. Does that sound familiar at all? Cool Runnings with dogs immediately comes to mind. While the basic concept of overcoming impossible odds to have the Caribbean islanders competing in snow sports is no different from that mediocre effort, the form is. Sun Dogs eschews the stoner comedy milieu in favor of heart warming documentary. The film focuses on the batch of strays selected for the dog team, and the men who came together to make it happen, including Jimmy Buffet. After the initial investment from some enterprising locals, American trainers are brought down to seriously engage the animals. It’s basically the training sequence from Best of the Best sans montage. The film spends a lot of time dealing with the plight of average Jamaicans and the wreckage of their economy. If you’ve ever been to the Caribbean and traveled inland from the beach resorts you have probably come across the utter poverty that plagues the region. The film makers attempt to draw a line between the street mutts and their streetwise trainers. Through the dog sled team everyone gets a second chance I suppose. Too bad this part of the film falls flat. It’s hard to know where the focus is exactly, and splitting between two species doesn’t really resonate the way it could have in more adept hands. Director Andrea Stewart attempts to play the heartstrings, but sudden shifts in tone just become annoying. The strongest note in the film is without a doubt the dogs themselves. Coming from the streets or abused homes there is something gratifying in watching the wayward animals develop from confused and frightened shadows of themselves into working athletes. To this end Stewart spends time with the Jamaican Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other animal enthusiasts. These sequences are very effective and feature some of the best interviews in the film. Just as soon as she creates some sympathy for the animals though, she attempts to once again trade it in for human sympathy. Jamaica sucks, I get it. It has been in a downward spiral for decades with little hope of overcoming its wasted potential. I know, I read The Economist. It’s nice that through the dog sled team many under privileged participants like Oswald and Newton, the dog trainers, and received opportunities to travel the world and succeed. Honestly I just don’t care. I found myself just wanting to watch the dogs. Sun Dogs tries very hard to be all things to all people. It’s as if while filming the director became increasingly distracted and decided to follow as many sub plots as possible. Unfortunately it doesn’t work. If you love dogs, or are interested in the plight of the crime ridden island, Sun Dogs may be worth a look, otherwise just skip it.
]]>Fri, 16 Nov 2007 03:12:13 GMTanalogzombieanalogzombie Blog11/15/2007 10:12:13 PMSun Dogs is the story of a rag tag group coming together to create Jamaica’s very first dog sled team. Does that sound familiar at all? Cool Runnings with dogs immediately comes to mind. While the basic concept of overcoming impossible odds to have the Caribbean islanders competing in snow sports is no different from that mediocre effort, the form is. Sun Dogs eschews the stoner comedy milieu in favor of heart warming documentary. The film focuses on the batch of strays selected for the dog team, and the men who came together to make it happen, including Jimmy Buffet. After the initial investment from some enterprising locals, American trainers are brought down to seriously engage the animals. It’s basically the training sequence from Best of the Best sans montage. The film spends a lot of time dealing with the plight of average Jamaicans and the wreckage of their economy. If you’ve ever been to the Caribbean and traveled inland from the beach resorts you have probably come across the utter poverty that plagues the region. The film makers attempt to draw a line between the street mutts and their streetwise trainers. Through the dog sled team everyone gets a second chance I suppose. Too bad this part of the film falls flat. It’s hard to know where the focus is exactly, and splitting between two species doesn’t really resonate the way it could have in more adept hands. Director Andrea Stewart attempts to play the heartstrings, but sudden shifts in tone just become annoying. The strongest note in the film is without a doubt the dogs themselves. Coming from the streets or abused homes there is something gratifying in watching the wayward animals develop from confused and frightened shadows of themselves into working athletes. To this end Stewart spends time with the Jamaican Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other animal enthusiasts. These sequences are very effective and feature some of the best interviews in the film. Just as soon as she creates some sympathy for the animals though, she attempts to once again trade it in for human sympathy. Jamaica sucks, I get it. It has been in a downward spiral for decades with little hope of overcoming its wasted potential. I know, I read The Economist. It’s nice that through the dog sled team many under privileged participants like Oswald and Newton, the dog trainers, and received opportunities to travel the world and succeed. Honestly I just don’t care. I found myself just wanting to watch the dogs. Sun Dogs tries very hard to be all things to all people. It’s as if while filming the director became increasingly distracted and decided to follow as many sub plots as possible. Unfortunately it doesn’t work. If you love dogs, or are interested in the plight of the crime ridden island, Sun Dogs may be worth a look, otherwise just skip it. http://www.spout.com/blogs/tenenbaums/archive/2007/10/26/21201.aspx Post By: Tenenbaums
Post To: Tenenbaums Blog
Post Date: 10/26/2007 1:37:36 AM
Body: With crossword puzzles and air guitarists taking leading roles in engaging documentaries, it seems that the most unlikely candidates can make for the most interesting films. After the launch of the Jamaican dogsled team, the topic's oddity appeared natural for likewise treatment and quickly received it with Andrea Stewart's Sun Dogs. Cool Runnings told the story of the country's unlikely bobsled team that competed in front of the entire world at the 1988 Winter Olympics. Practically banking on the inevitable dogsled/bobsled misunderstandings as an "in," the filmmakers seem to think that they have another bizarre Jamaican success story and want to be the first to break the news in cinematic form. The only problem is that the story is barely worth telling. That, and high schoolers regularly make higher quality video projects for Honors English on their iMacs.After the commercial success of the bobsled team's run to fame, Jamaica proved that it was capable of producing more than just Bob Marley and Rasta culture. But since the release of Cool Runnings, little in the country has changed. Dogsled team founder and co-owner Danny Melville thinks that the best way for Jamaica to attract attention and rise up is to participate in yet another unlikely event involving nationally absent snow. He plans to enlist dogs rescued from the J.S.P.C.A. for the team's local training and work up to competing in races overseas. The idea is wild enough to attract Jimmy Buffett as a co-sponsor and with well-known Minnesotan trainer Rick Johnson teaching the novice squad, the team has all the potential that it needs...except location.The possibility of traditional sled racing on wooden runners and snow appears to be the team's goal. In order to combat the obvious lack of winter weather, the film introduces a multitude of snow-free races involving various combinations of wheels, human running, and dogs. The format settled on by the Jamaican team is a large tricycle sled led by four canines. While this arrangement seems like a logical starting point, we patiently wait for the upgrade to snow.In the meantime, the filmmakers focus on the social and economic problems of Jamaica, setting the film apart from being a typical inspirational underdog (*sigh*) sports movie. For a while, the look at the nation represented by the team outranks the dogs in screen time and it is enlightening to see the true nature of an idealized country primarily experienced by outsiders at the Sandals resort. In order to reverse the rough times, Melville's team of locals is open to any assistance and their willingness to listen is inspirational alone.But this focus is merely a sideshow. Local officials and other notables lament about Jamaica's many problems, but they offer no potential solutions. Instead, the filmmakers overstress that the abused dogs are vicarious heroes for the battered people of Jamaica. Everyone involved is ecstatic of the new hope, yet the film's sloppy pacing indicates that they also expect instant results. And besides, we want to see the dogs. Or is the ailing country more appealing? What about the profiles on chief musher Devon or apprentice Newton? And what happened to Jimmy Buffet? Each of these aspects are so half-baked that none of them reach their potential...much like Jamaica itself. Wait, is this film operating on a Fellinian or Lynchian level? Nah...Well, when Newton fails the team by breaking the law, he does validates the negatives of the country. As Melville laments, “That’s Jamaica,” and once more we are peppered with the metaphor. It turns out that we really do prefer the dogs after all. And where is that snow?However, the pups don't escape humiliation entirely. Once Melville assembled the necessities for the team, he went looking for promotion. He initially envisioned an animated sled dog movie and the filmmakers make the mistake of including brief cartoon clips that attempt to further the film and add patches of humor. Instead, the dogs' voices are indecipherable and the animation ends up as a wasted effort. Now what about that racing on snow? The payoff hinted at throughout the film never comes and the long wait for that answer emulates the letdown handed down by the film. As a result, the film feels too much like Part I in a multi-chapter series. The closest the team comes to ice is Newton's week-long excursion to Minnesota, another undercooked tangent. And what of the rescued dogs? Will they eventually be used abroad in the tricycle races? How about on snow? Or are they only rescued pups meant for training? When the credits roll, these mysteries remain unsolved and poor Robert Stack isn't around to help.The story is intriguing, but more appropriately belongs in a Time Magazine human interest article. Plus, the anticipated cry of "Mush mon!" is never uttered once. The film isn't good, but it has a big heart and good intentions. "Sun Dogs" may encourage you to add the team's homepage to your RSS feeds, but is good for little else.
]]>Fri, 26 Oct 2007 05:37:36 GMTTenenbaumsTenenbaums Blog10/26/2007 1:37:36 AMWith crossword puzzles and air guitarists taking leading roles in engaging documentaries, it seems that the most unlikely candidates can make for the most interesting films. After the launch of the Jamaican dogsled team, the topic's oddity appeared natural for likewise treatment and quickly received it with Andrea Stewart's Sun Dogs. Cool Runnings told the story of the country's unlikely bobsled team that competed in front of the entire world at the 1988 Winter Olympics. Practically banking on the inevitable dogsled/bobsled misunderstandings as an "in," the filmmakers seem to think that they have another bizarre Jamaican success story and want to be the first to break the news in cinematic form. The only problem is that the story is barely worth telling. That, and high schoolers regularly make higher quality video projects for Honors English on their iMacs.After the commercial success of the bobsled team's run to fame, Jamaica proved that it was capable of producing more than just Bob Marley and Rasta culture. But since the release of Cool Runnings, little in the country has changed. Dogsled team founder and co-owner Danny Melville thinks that the best way for Jamaica to attract attention and rise up is to participate in yet another unlikely event involving nationally absent snow. He plans to enlist dogs rescued from the J.S.P.C.A. for the team's local training and work up to competing in races overseas. The idea is wild enough to attract Jimmy Buffett as a co-sponsor and with well-known Minnesotan trainer Rick Johnson teaching the novice squad, the team has all the potential that it needs...except location.The possibility of traditional sled racing on wooden runners and snow appears to be the team's goal. In order to combat the obvious lack of winter weather, the film introduces a multitude of snow-free races involving various combinations of wheels, human running, and dogs. The format settled on by the Jamaican team is a large tricycle sled led by four canines. While this arrangement seems like a logical starting point, we patiently wait for the upgrade to snow.In the meantime, the filmmakers focus on the social and economic problems of Jamaica, setting the film apart from being a typical inspirational underdog (*sigh*) sports movie. For a while, the look at the nation represented by the team outranks the dogs in screen time and it is enlightening to see the true nature of an idealized country primarily experienced by outsiders at the Sandals resort. In order to reverse the rough times, Melville's team of locals is open to any assistance and their willingness to listen is inspirational alone.But this focus is merely a sideshow. Local officials and other notables lament about Jamaica's many problems, but they offer no potential solutions. Instead, the filmmakers overstress that the abused dogs are vicarious heroes for the battered people of Jamaica. Everyone involved is ecstatic of the new hope, yet the film's sloppy pacing indicates that they also expect instant results. And besides, we want to see the dogs. Or is the ailing country more appealing? What about the profiles on chief musher Devon or apprentice Newton? And what happened to Jimmy Buffet? Each of these aspects are so half-baked that none of them reach their potential...much like Jamaica itself. Wait, is this film operating on a Fellinian or Lynchian level? Nah...Well, when Newton fails the team by breaking the law, he does validates the negatives of the country. As Melville laments, “That’s Jamaica,” and once more we are peppered with the metaphor. It turns out that we really do prefer the dogs after all. And where is that snow?However, the pups don't escape humiliation entirely. Once Melville assembled the necessities for the team, he went looking for promotion. He initially envisioned an animated sled dog movie and the filmmakers make the mistake of including brief cartoon clips that attempt to further the film and add patches of humor. Instead, the dogs' voices are indecipherable and the animation ends up as a wasted effort. Now what about that racing on snow? The payoff hinted at throughout the film never comes and the long wait for that answer emulates the letdown handed down by the film. As a result, the film feels too much like Part I in a multi-chapter series. The closest the team comes to ice is Newton's week-long excursion to Minnesota, another undercooked tangent. And what of the rescued dogs? Will they eventually be used abroad in the tricycle races? How about on snow? Or are they only rescued pups meant for training? When the credits roll, these mysteries remain unsolved and poor Robert Stack isn't around to help.The story is intriguing, but more appropriately belongs in a Time Magazine human interest article. Plus, the anticipated cry of "Mush mon!" is never uttered once. The film isn't good, but it has a big heart and good intentions. "Sun Dogs" may encourage you to add the team's homepage to your RSS feeds, but is good for little else. http://www.spout.com/blogs/theworkingdead/archive/2007/10/24/21132.aspx Post By: TheWorkingDead
Post To: TheWorkingDead Blog
Post Date: 10/24/2007 11:48:00 AM
Body: When I first saw Sun Dogs on the list of movies available for review to Spout Mavens members, I skipped past it after reading only a few sentences. A movie about a Jamaican sled dog team? Cool Runnings gave me enough wacky Jamaican fish-out-of-water sports hijinks for one lifetime. Then I saw it was a documentary, and I put in a request. Then I started watching it and my interest waned. Then 10 minutes passed and I was hooked. Then I was bored. Then I was hooked again! It was a constant roller coaster of varying interest levels. It's impossible to view Sun Dogs without thinking of Cool Runnings-the John Candy vehicle that had him training the first Jamaican bobsled team(based on a true story)- and in fact that's the intention of just about everyone involved in this film. The Jamaican sled dog idea was nothing more or less than a calculated ploy to bring money, tourism and attention to a country mired in widespread poverty and crime. This isn't an ignoble goal by any means; the main purpose of everyone involved is to show the world that Jamaicans are hardworking, strongwilled people, able to succeed at whatever they try. My problem, specifically in the beginning of the film, is that the documentary looks too much like a video postcard you might see on the travel channel, and I was worried that Sun Dogs would completely ignore the less attractive aspects of Jamaica. But, about 10-15 minutes in, the film begins to go down those more dangerous streets, and features a few talking head interviews that cover the crime rate in Kingston, the state of education, and the state of poverty. This seems to add a few new dimensions to the film, but in the end it isn't focused enough. The filmmakers try to cover so many topics, and then cram it into a few scant minutes during a documentary about sled dogs, that the documentary has no real depth.For the most part the film follows the handful of people trying to pull together a sled dog team, train the dogs from scratch, and introduce this new sport in a country where most people don't even know what 'sledding' is. This is, literally, a ragtag team of dogs and people, which fits right in with the uplifting sports film these people are so desperate to make. All of the dogs are rescued from the J.S.P.C.A. and the filmmakers(and dogsled promoters) are eager to paint this as an allegory for Jamaica itself. These dogs are rescued from hard and brutal lives and given a shot to improve themselves and live happily ever after. And there lies my main complaint with this film; everyone is so eager to make this a brand, to market both the film and the country, that this documentary rarely feels real. I'm not saying that the events in this film never happened, or that it was all scripted, I'm just saying that for a documentary there's an awful lot of manipulation going on. The previous documentary I reviewed here, Let The Church Say Amen, featured a group of people I would normally not enjoy spending time with, and despite the fact that I didn't enjoy spending time with the people in that film, I came away pleased with the movie overall. Mainly that was because every single thing in that film felt real, like the cameras just happened to capture these people and these events. In Sled Dogs it's obvious, painfully so, that some scenes and events have been staged because the filmmakers just needed the footage. A lot of these are minor, like characters meeting or having introductory conversations when it's clear they'd known each other previously.It's hard for me to hate- or even dislike- this film, when the goal is so noble and the efforts of everyone involved are so heartfelt, but too much of this feels like a bad infomercial. Like the introductions of all the dogs where they do something wacky, the shot freezes as their name comes up and someone dubs in a cheesy 'woof woof' sound, to give them all personality. Something happens on the island near the end of the film that is a complete reversal of everything you would expect. The documentary seems eager to skip past this event, which I will not divulge here, but if anything more time should have been spent on it. It introduces the idea that perhaps the entire ills of a nation can't be solved by a winning sled dog team and a heart of gold attitude. It's also the one moment in the film that feels heartbreakingly real and unstaged. As it stands it's too little too late.
]]>Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:48:00 GMTTheWorkingDeadTheWorkingDead Blog10/24/2007 11:48:00 AMWhen I first saw Sun Dogs on the list of movies available for review to Spout Mavens members, I skipped past it after reading only a few sentences. A movie about a Jamaican sled dog team? Cool Runnings gave me enough wacky Jamaican fish-out-of-water sports hijinks for one lifetime. Then I saw it was a documentary, and I put in a request. Then I started watching it and my interest waned. Then 10 minutes passed and I was hooked. Then I was bored. Then I was hooked again! It was a constant roller coaster of varying interest levels. It's impossible to view Sun Dogs without thinking of Cool Runnings-the John Candy vehicle that had him training the first Jamaican bobsled team(based on a true story)- and in fact that's the intention of just about everyone involved in this film. The Jamaican sled dog idea was nothing more or less than a calculated ploy to bring money, tourism and attention to a country mired in widespread poverty and crime. This isn't an ignoble goal by any means; the main purpose of everyone involved is to show the world that Jamaicans are hardworking, strongwilled people, able to succeed at whatever they try. My problem, specifically in the beginning of the film, is that the documentary looks too much like a video postcard you might see on the travel channel, and I was worried that Sun Dogs would completely ignore the less attractive aspects of Jamaica. But, about 10-15 minutes in, the film begins to go down those more dangerous streets, and features a few talking head interviews that cover the crime rate in Kingston, the state of education, and the state of poverty. This seems to add a few new dimensions to the film, but in the end it isn't focused enough. The filmmakers try to cover so many topics, and then cram it into a few scant minutes during a documentary about sled dogs, that the documentary has no real depth.For the most part the film follows the handful of people trying to pull together a sled dog team, train the dogs from scratch, and introduce this new sport in a country where most people don't even know what 'sledding' is. This is, literally, a ragtag team of dogs and people, which fits right in with the uplifting sports film these people are so desperate to make. All of the dogs are rescued from the J.S.P.C.A. and the filmmakers(and dogsled promoters) are eager to paint this as an allegory for Jamaica itself. These dogs are rescued from hard and brutal lives and given a shot to improve themselves and live happily ever after. And there lies my main complaint with this film; everyone is so eager to make this a brand, to market both the film and the country, that this documentary rarely feels real. I'm not saying that the events in this film never happened, or that it was all scripted, I'm just saying that for a documentary there's an awful lot of manipulation going on. The previous documentary I reviewed here, Let The Church Say Amen, featured a group of people I would normally not enjoy spending time with, and despite the fact that I didn't enjoy spending time with the people in that film, I came away pleased with the movie overall. Mainly that was because every single thing in that film felt real, like the cameras just happened to capture these people and these events. In Sled Dogs it's obvious, painfully so, that some scenes and events have been staged because the filmmakers just needed the footage. A lot of these are minor, like characters meeting or having introductory conversations when it's clear they'd known each other previously.It's hard for me to hate- or even dislike- this film, when the goal is so noble and the efforts of everyone involved are so heartfelt, but too much of this feels like a bad infomercial. Like the introductions of all the dogs where they do something wacky, the shot freezes as their name comes up and someone dubs in a cheesy 'woof woof' sound, to give them all personality. Something happens on the island near the end of the film that is a complete reversal of everything you would expect. The documentary seems eager to skip past this event, which I will not divulge here, but if anything more time should have been spent on it. It introduces the idea that perhaps the entire ills of a nation can't be solved by a winning sled dog team and a heart of gold attitude. It's also the one moment in the film that feels heartbreakingly real and unstaged. As it stands it's too little too late. http://www.spout.com/blogs/jimbell/archive/2007/10/21/21023.aspx Post By: JimBell
Post To: JimBell Blog
Post Date: 10/21/2007 1:31:53 AM
Body: Sun Dogs: The True Story of The Jamaican Dogsled Team (2007) doesn’t work. The first of two fundamental problems is that the documentary isn’t really about the dogsled team. When you think of the famous Jamaican bobsled team, you think of four Jamaicans taking their sleds to a land of ice and snow. They do. So, when you think of the upstart Jamaican dogsled team, you think of a rag-tag collection of Jamaican street dogs, their sleds, and their driver (musher) going to a land of ice and snow. But the dogs and their sled never leave the Jamaican tourist ranch. The musher goes to Scotland and races someone else’s dogs in a dry-land race. The other fundamental problem is that the movie, which is more about Jamaica than the dog team, doesn’t teach us much about Jamaica. Certainly, many talking heads give their version of Jamaica is nice but the crime rate is high, or Jamaicans like to excel at bizarre challenges but most university graduates leave the country. How little we learn about Jamaica is revealed in the film at its most dramatic moment. (Spoiler alert.) The young man being groomed as the assistant musher has been given every break—a steady job, a wonderful mentor, literacy tutoring, an amazing trip to Minnesota to study dogsled racing, and a future far brighter than normal. Then, from people who trusted him, he steals a Land Rover, goes for a joy ride, totals the vehicle, and gets fired. Why did he do this? If we had learned anything substantial about Jamaica, we should have an inkling.
]]>Sun, 21 Oct 2007 05:31:53 GMTJimBellJimBell Blog10/21/2007 1:31:53 AMSun Dogs: The True Story of The Jamaican Dogsled Team (2007) doesn’t work. The first of two fundamental problems is that the documentary isn’t really about the dogsled team. When you think of the famous Jamaican bobsled team, you think of four Jamaicans taking their sleds to a land of ice and snow. They do. So, when you think of the upstart Jamaican dogsled team, you think of a rag-tag collection of Jamaican street dogs, their sleds, and their driver (musher) going to a land of ice and snow. But the dogs and their sled never leave the Jamaican tourist ranch. The musher goes to Scotland and races someone else’s dogs in a dry-land race. The other fundamental problem is that the movie, which is more about Jamaica than the dog team, doesn’t teach us much about Jamaica. Certainly, many talking heads give their version of Jamaica is nice but the crime rate is high, or Jamaicans like to excel at bizarre challenges but most university graduates leave the country. How little we learn about Jamaica is revealed in the film at its most dramatic moment. (Spoiler alert.) The young man being groomed as the assistant musher has been given every break—a steady job, a wonderful mentor, literacy tutoring, an amazing trip to Minnesota to study dogsled racing, and a future far brighter than normal. Then, from people who trusted him, he steals a Land Rover, goes for a joy ride, totals the vehicle, and gets fired. Why did he do this? If we had learned anything substantial about Jamaica, we should have an inkling. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/dogs/MemberTagFilms.aspxdogs
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]]>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:35:26 GMT352552Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/team/MemberTagFilms.aspxteam
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]]>Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:02:23 GMT5811833Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/sun/MemberTagFilms.aspxsun
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]]>Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:25:05 GMT761010Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/jamaica/MemberTagFilms.aspxjamaica
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]]>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:22:47 GMT2589Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/secondchance/MemberTagFilms.aspxsecondchance
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Number of people who tagged: 5

Number of times used: 8

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]]>Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:02:33 GMT1211Tag