Tuesday, November 23, 2021

The Plague Dogs

A clandestine facility isolated in the English countryside conducts research into the bubonic plague, and subjects dogs to abhorrent endurance tests, with no concern for their distraught feelings.

But one night after the cleaning of a cage, an infernal latch is left unlocked, and two dogs bravely escape forthwith, into the nebulous realm beyond.

Attempting to reconstitute their latent wild survival instincts, they venture forth with determined vigour, but the lands are unaccustomed to roaming beasts in search of food, unfortunately for Snitter (John Hurt) and Rowf (Christopher Benjamin), the domain is inhospitable. 

A sympathetic fox (James Bolam as the Tod) takes them into his care however, and guides them from place to place as they intuitively adapt.

Soon their presence is detected, after an innocent man is accidentally shot, and local farmers notice sheep missing, the dogs are identified by their collars.

Soon the research facility is taken to task for its inherent wrongdoing, and even though people remain compassionate, a scathing hunt panoramically begins.

The dogs and fox furtively evade their ostentatious blunt pursuers. 

But the net becomes too tight.

They must reach the limitless ocean.

The Plague Dogs vividly captures the barbaric stresses animals undergo, while subjected to heartless scientific experiments, whose results are possibly often inconclusive (do conclusive results lead to less funding?).

If you sign up for emails from PETA you'll receive an abundance of notes chronicling animal abuse, with everything from mice to pigs to owls, it's important to sign their petitions, even if they're tough to read.

The Plague Dogs playfully showcases interactive wild and domestic behaviours, as the fox and dogs share thoughts and survival strategies, with interspecial communication.

The bold animals wisely care for one another while encouraging incarnate stealth, but their convivial trials and errors prove too much for surrounding commerce.

Do we really need to research how long an animal can swim before it drowns?, do tax payers pay the bills for such experiments?, critical inquiries must be applied (as many others suggest every day).

I initially thought research into the ways in which many bear species hibernate may generate interesting results.

But who knows how many bears may die to obtain them?

One is far too many. 

*Patrick Stewart has some cool lines. 

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