Move over Messi -- there's a new canine thespian in town. Ukai, the Australian shepherd/border collie/bouvier mix who stars opposite Mark Wahlberg in the new film "Arthur the King," undertakes a performance that is more physically rigorous, if not dramatically suspenseful, than the one delivered by the French border collie who appeared in the Oscar-winning film "Anatomy of a Fall."
But dog movies, and dogs in movies, aren't just having a moment, they've been an important part of cinema since the silent era -- and an easy hack to access audience's heartstrings.
Not that Arthur's tale needed much hacking to start with. This inspirational film is based on a true story, originally a quirky human interest sports news item about an Ecuadorian stray dog who bonded with a team of Swedish adventure racers in the middle of a grueling six-day trek, following them to the finish line, and eventually back to Sweden with racer Mikael Lindnord. The story became a media sensation, spawning a memoir and several other books by Lindnord, and a short ESPN documentary, as well as a dog rescue foundation.
Lindnord's memoir "Arthur: The Dog who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home" serves as the basis for "Arthur the King," adapted by screenwriter Michael Brandt and directed by Simon Cellan Jones, who also directed star Mark Wahlberg in "The Family Plan."
This story of perseverance, suffering and salvation though physical challenges is right in Wahlberg's current wheelhouse. The star is a deeply devout Catholic, devoted to a prayer and exercise routine that regularly starts around 3 a.m. His 2022 film "Father Stu," in which he plays a Catholic priest who survives a motorcycle accident and is left disabled by a degenerative muscle disease, features a story of spiritual salvation through physical suffering that's a darker side of the themes in "Arthur the King." Nevertheless, the amount of time his character, Michael Light, extols the virtues of pain and suffering while racing in the film is a clue that this is the kind of material that Wahlberg thrills to.
"Arthur the King," which hit theaters Friday is rated PG-13 (for some strong language) with a running time of 1:47.