OMG, puppies! And not just any puppies. The labrador pups that this documentary shadows for two years are an elite band. Not just adorable, of course, although the film-makers rarely miss an opportunity to showcase the innate snuffly cuteness of their subjects. These dogs are destined for great things. Over the course of their formative years, assisted by voluntary “raisers” and highly skilled trainers, they are moulded into guide dogs for the blind. But not all will make the cut. One is deemed too skittish, another is far too interested in any disgusting muck that it can scavenge from the floor.
It’s impossible not to get caught up in the stories of these doggies on a higher mission, but just to make sure, the film-makers use every emotive trick in the book, from the sanctimonious swelling score to the trite choice of soundbites from the good-hearted people who help them on their journey. In a tussle between the appeal of the subject and the plodding banality of the approach, the pups are ultimately the losers.
