Sartaj Singh
Directed by Simon Cellan Jones, ‘Arthur the King’ chronicles the inspiring and heartwarming story of a team of adventure racers coming across an injured dog who accompanies them for their arduous 435-mile race. The adventure film is based on a memoir by Mikael Lindnord, ‘Arthur – The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home.’ Mikael Lindnord (Mark Wahlberg) has been racing for nineteen years and is participating in his final competition, steeling his resolve to win. The athletes begin their journey in Ecuador, running, hiking, boating, and climbing their way through treacherous wild landscapes. While resting at a camp during the first leg of the race, Mikael feeds a scruffy stray dog some meatballs. To his astonishment, Mikael finds the dog keeping up with his group despite them having traveled for three days and 200 miles.
The team soon realizes the expert navigational prowess of the dog, who seems to find faster routes through the rolling terrain and prevents them from nearly walking off a cliff. The canine is named Arthur and continues to travel with them despite the harsh conditions and a leg injury. When Arthur’s extraordinary feat is shared online, his loyalty and perseverance win the adoration of thousands of hearts and minds, drawing further attention to their team’s progress. As the touching tale takes us through the team’s tempestuous trials, we are submerged in the raw beauty of Ecudaor’s natural forest scapes, raising questions regarding the particular filming sites used in the movie.
Arthur the King Filming Locations
Filming for ‘Arthur the King’ took place largely around Cabrera and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The Caribbean nation’s tropical landscapes stood in for Ecuador’s coastal route depicted in the film, and shooting wasn’t actually carried out in Ecuador. Principal photography was carried out for two months, beginning in January 2021. The production team considered Ecuador as a filming location but found the conditions unsuitable.
Shooting was initially set to begin in the fall of 2020 in Puerto Rico but was changed due to production challenges. The real-life Arthur passed away a few weeks before shooting for the film began. As the film crew was preparing for the shoot and the actors were training in a paddling session, actor Mark Wahlberg injured his knee and damaged his meniscus on the very first day. Despite the injury, Wahlberg performed over months of physically demanding shoots, poetically mirroring the injured Arthur, who had run the race with an injured leg himself.
“I think something happened that day, I saw fear in everyone’s eyes on the film set… hundreds of people were ready to shut down the production and go home when we barely had started. Then I looked into Mark’s eyes, but I didn’t see fear,” wrote Mikael Lindnord in a social media post. “Despite all odds we finished Arthur the King two months later and that fire I saw that day, came back many times during the filming.” Allow us to take you to the shooting destinations of ‘Arthur the King.’
Cabrera, Dominican Republic
Named after the freedom fighter María Trinidad Sánchez, the eponymous province in the northern Dominican Republic served as a filming location for ‘Arthur the King.’ In particular, the film crew first ventured to the coastal town of Cabrera to begin training and eventually roll cameras. Situated at the western extreme of the Scottish Bay, Cabrera is known for its pristine beaches and crystal clear waters, exuding a classic Caribbean charm. The locales around the town were so picturesque that Mark Wahlberg impulsively bought land there during production, seeking to build a coastal house there in the near future.
“I came at Christmas and I was in Cabrera, I spent some time in Playa Grande, and bought a piece of land and I’m going to build a house,” said the actor in an interview. The Playa Grande beach is located northwest of Cabrera. The one-mile-long natural feature is characterized by golden sands, surf-worthy waves, and vibrant turquoise waters framed by palm trees. The scenic vistas of Cavrera and Playa Grande are beautifully illustrated in the action comedy film ‘Shotgun Wedding.’
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
The capital city of the Dominican Republic and its surrounding areas were utilized in the creation of ‘Arthur the King.’ The production team was spotted lensing scenes in the iconic Colonial Zone, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its cobblestone streets and colonial-era buildings. The region was chosen for its resemblance, both in the urban and natural landscapes, to Ecuador, which is the setting for the original work.
Santo Domingo offers diverse sites for both urban and forest scenes, including lush forests, rolling hills, and a dynamic cityscape, which provide an ideal backdrop for the adventure depicted in the movie. “We spent three months in the Dominican Republic hiking, trekking, climbing, biking and kayaking to make this film,” wrote actor Simu Liu in the caption of a picture he shared on social media. Other prominent movies and shows that have set up shop in Santo Domingo include ‘The Lost City,’ ‘Old,’ ‘The Godfather Part II,’ and Netflix’s ‘The I-Land’
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