Madeline
Adoring was so touching that I gave my dog extra hugs when I got home (this was a movie I watched on a flight). This movie is a Chinese movie about domestic animals and the relationship they have with the people who care for them.
I keep telling myself, as a way to learn Mandarin Chinese, I need to be repetitive in watching the same movie for comprehension, and because I loved this movie so much this may be the movie. That being said, if I decide to watch this movie over and over again, I also need to not cry at the ending every time. I think my dog will be sick that I gave my dog extra hugs each time as well.
Storylines
This movie is set up similar to the movies Love Actually and Mother’s Day, in that it is a series of seemingly unconnected stories but around pets and their owners and their owner’s relationships. There are six stories in total, two cats, three dogs, and my favorite, the pig. Each story contains an animal and at least one human, each with a very different tale of their relationship.
There is the cat who makes a mess of things. The kitty who is scared. A seeing eye dog who brings two people together. An overly protective dog of it’s dog mom, the story that hit home the most and I gave my dog extra hugs when I got home. A smart stray who is willing to help with directions but only for certain people. And of course, the pig who is an unconventional pet causing friction in a new relationship.
I Gave My Dog Extra Hugs After
Being a dog mom of the same Chihuahua for over 13 years, I resonated with this movie specifically the story line about the wrot willer. A women has had her dog for a good majority of her life and it is clear that her and the dog have a strong love for eachother. But like all humans, myself included, eventually we fall in love and the women gets married, but the dog has no interest in sharing his owner’s love and the new husband needs to win the dog over.
This storyline feels similar in that when I started dating my boyfriend, I had already had my dog for seven years. I had a strong bond with my dog and was developing a strong bond with my new boyfriend. My boyfriend never had dogs and didn’t know what to do with them and over the years I have watched their bond grow. Now their bond is almost as strong as mine with my dog.
In the end of Adoring, the new husband finds himself caring for the dog in ways I’ve seen my boyfriend care for mine. But unlike my story so far, the husband needs to be with the dog when they put him down, as the wife is travelling. With a 16 year old dog at home, watching this movie while I was traveling, I could not picture my family going through the same thing and I bawled like a little baby and when I got home, I gave my dog extra hugs and let him know he was loved by both his parents, old and new.
Final Thoughts
There was so many things I enjoyed about this movie. First, it was in Mandarin Chinese and so focusing on the words and understanding them was helpful in my comprehension. Second, I could relate to the stories so much that I had to give my dog extra hugs once I got back home. I felt it was a heartfelt and fun movie and add some adoring pets, including a pig, and my attention and my heart are captured.
