The narrative is called a surreal period comedic tale of canine reincarnation exploring the relationships between father and son and master and dog. Peter O'Toole said that the film's use of comedy to explore the relationship between a father and son was part of the attraction for him: All of us have had these difficult familial relationships and I think it's a film for all of us who understand the relationship between a father and son. It's been interesting watching how various members of the crew have been looking at the monitors during scenes, because they come up to me and say, 'I had the same thing with my father.
In the very early 1900s, Henslowe Fisk lives beholden to his father, the difficult Horatio Fisk. The Fisk family has suffered first the loss of its younger son, Harrington Fisk (Xavier Horan), killed in the Second Anglo-Boer War, shortly followed by the death of Horatio's wife. Fisk Senior is looked after by his housekeeper Mrs Brimley (Judy Parfitt) who has lost her husband. Fisk Junior reluctantly visits his father every Thursday.
One day, trying to entertain his father, Fisk Junior takes him to a lecture by a visiting swami (Art Malik) about the transmigration of souls. The lecture is also attended by the new local clergyman, Dean Spanley (Sam Neill).
Starring Jeremy Northam
Peter O'Toole
Sam Neill
Bryan Brown
Judy Parfitt
Dudley Sutton
Spoken languages: English
Subtitles: Danish,Swedish,Norwegian,Finnish
