After several sustained successes in relevant budgets, Netflix is up to its tricks again with a low-profile proposal that is generating thousands of views: Perro perdido. It is a story based on real events and on a book that describes a particular dynamic, with the search for a pet as the objective.
Without having a complex plot or massively recognized actors, Perro perdido quickly positioned itself in the top ten of Netflix and is currently in the first position of that list. A surprise. In this, probably, the protagonist of the film has a lot to do with it: Gonker.
It is a Labrador retriever that, over the years, becomes essential in the family dynamic. His loss prompts a search for many miles and people involved, leading John Marshall —played by Rob Lowe— and Fielding Marshall —played by Johnny Berchtold— to embark on a search journey that will bring them closer together. An emotional story that, through the figure of a pet, easily generates solidarity and empathy.
The story and trailer for Lost Dog
This Netflix movie is directed by Stephen Herek, from the script by Nick Santora. His work was inspired by the book Dog Gone: The Extraordinary Journey of a Lost Pet and the Family Who Brought It Home by Pauls Toutonghi. This work was done through an investigation that exposed everything that happened during the search for the pet.
The official description of Lost Dog tells the following:
“When his beloved dog goes missing, a young man and his father embark on an incredible adventure to find him before it’s too late, sparking the intense search.”
That journey involves many kilometers and encounters with unknown people and situations. A familiar journey, yes, but also full of circumstances that in another context would not have occurred for John Marshall and Fielding Marshall. As the trailer for Perro perdido exposes, the search also fosters a generational clash that will have to be addressed during the process.
The actors who star in this generational gap are the aforementioned Rob Lowe and Johnny Berchtold. They are accompanied in Lost Dog by performers such as Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Susan Gallagher, Nick Peine, Rachael Thompson, Michael H. Cole, Brian Brightman, Kevin Brown and Al Mitchell.
The real events that inspired the film
The adapted story in Lost Dog began in 1998. During that year, Fielding Marshall lost Gonker, his dog. It was more than just a pet to him: what was considered one of his best friends. While both were crossing the Appalachians, a mountain range located in the eastern United States, the animal got lost. That led Marshall to despair, not only because of the seriousness of the event.
At the time, Gonker had Addison’s disease, a disorder that causes the adrenal glands to not produce enough hormones. Therefore, it was necessary to palliate this deficit with frequent injections. It is then that the need to find the dog becomes urgent in the lives of the Marshall family and that of many people who were involved in the search for the animal.
The seemingly simple story of Perro Perdido has amassed nearly forty million hours of viewing on Netflix in the past two weeks. Taking into account its current position, as the first in the Top Ten of the platform, and the interest it continues to generate, it is valid to suspect that this number will continue to grow in the coming weeks.
Lost Dog has been available on Netflix since January 13.