Ok, I wasn't paying attention the whole time - was it that clear? Was Spanley's dog friend shot? All I got was that Fisk senior likened the shot to his son dying. First time I've ever not understood the plot of a film, though I wasn't concentrating all the time, walked out confounded.
I don't think this is an easy film. I suggest you try again as it is, for me, the best film of the year and shamefully overlooked by BOTH Academies.
No man will marry a bilakoro
Dean Spaniel?
There are subtle looks between Fisk Junior and Wrather throughout the last half of the film - do you remember the Indian cricketer said Fisks' name was Wag? Not so subtle really. There's a lot of dialogue in this film, most of it relevant to the plot.
Fisk Senior was transfixed by the Dean's story but became overwhelmed by remembering his son - but we never really know how much he believed in the story, but to him that didn't really matter.
Peter O'Toole plays the complex character so well, and yet so simply, it's just great to watch.
I thought it rather obvious. By finally finding out his treasured dog *was* coming back to him he simultaneously accepted that his treasured son Harrington had not "run out" on him by going off to fight in the Boer War. Each was a short term "adventure" that each expected to return from but didn't. When Fisk Sr weeps at the end it is not for Wag, one of the seven great dogs or not, it is the end of the road to acceptance of the death of his son.
shareI can see how that might happen.
Quite a few "clues" were dropped VISUALLY in that movie, rather than having the characters blather on. As a member of the audience, you're expected to slip into an Hercule Poirot / Miss Marple role, with beady eyes darting, snatching up the clues as they fall.
In another thread, someone contrasted this movie with the big summer blockbusters, made for easy consumption by the popcorn-munching masses.
There's no subtlety there, but plenty of it in Dean Spanley.
For example, so far NO-ONE has picked up on the Dean's name (Spanley) as an anagram of Spaniel (sort of, at least phonetically, "Spanyel") the kind of dog the Dean used to be.
Sadly, it was only the Spanley Spaniel who was shot, not the Wrather Mongrel, who seems to have gone on to have other adventures, like his human counterpart.
The man on the horse is Junior's brother being shot off his horse as he returned from patrol in the Boer War - but because (as Junior said) they never found the body, that scenario is imagined in Senior's mind, and it's Senior who makes the connection between Wag never coming home and his son never coming home from the Boer War. (You got that bit spot on!)
If it's not too much trouble, can I encourage you to watch the movie again, without distractions and see what else you put together. Sometimes, knowing what's going to happen in that situation can help free your mind to pick up other details and find the "significance" in the little details - which is actually one of the major themes of the story.
I believe that both Wag and his mongrel friend (Wrather) were shot by the shepherd. Spanley mentions "...one moment we were headed home and the next we were not...". It would make most sense (to me) that they were both killed which allowed them to come back as similarly aged men. It would also fit that what tied them together strongly enough to recognise each other in the next life was their demise the day of their adventure, not their adventure and their acquaintance alone.
I also love the way that Fisk Sr. is explained finally by his loss of Wag. His attitude/callous is not by his son's death, or his wife's subsequent suicide. Young Fisk makes it clear to us that his father has always been this way and this is confirmed for us when we hear the story about the brothers on Lake Windemere "...Bring me your dead!" Fisk Sr. was hardened by the loss of Wag and it changed him for life. Wag coming back to him allows him to feel the loss of his son and wife, but most importantly, allows him to love his son, his governess and also his own life as it comes to a close. There's nothing more risky than getting a pet - you know it will end badly for you as you'll outlive them, but we all do it anyway! We yearn for the pure connection of the master and servant relationship. Really lovely story.
Oh, I didn't know that until I just saw this post.
This is showing for free on Netflix. I need to watch it again.