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Martin Clunes: A Man and his Dogs
Okay,
this review may be a little biased as I'm a dog person and
not a cat person. Dogs are loyal, cats are ... cats, they have
their own agendas but with the canines, their DNA is hardwired for
packs, hence their loyalty and the term, man's best friend. This
is where actor Martin Clunes comes into the fray, another dog lover who
takes the viewer on an interesting
journey and personal journey about the life of dogs and how these wild animals became one of
man’s closest companions.
Early
in the piece, we learn that Clunes has three dogs himself, each with
different personalities and traits but at the end of the day, these pets
are family members and Clunes passion comes through magically in this
documentary which makes it so enjoyable to watch. Unlike some dry and un-inspirational documentaries, Clunes light
hearted attitude and approachability is almost like listening to a close
friend talk as his excitement shines through.
Interestingly enough,
domesticated dogs are genetically linked (99.8%) to wolves which does
raise the question of how these wild beasts became loyal friends to man.
As Clunes personal history lesson unfolds, we visit a variety of
countries from Africa to the United States as we learn what breeding has
done to dogs (e.g. genetic disorders), how some dog dovers take their
love too far and keep them as surrogate children to more serious
matters, like the endangered African Painted Dog.
There is also a great scene
involving a police dog in the America that highlights the versatility of
these animals from work to pleasure and just around the corner, a wolf
pack hunting their prey and ironically, we have let these animals into
our home. In the end, Martin Clunes: A Man and his Dogs Coming is
a perfectly presented documentary with high production values that are
mimicked by the video and audio quality.
If you’re a dog lover, than
this is a must have documentary to your collection and is not only
inspiring but quite enjoyable. The only problem with this documentary is
that it should have longer but apart from that, highly recommended! |
