Ozpetek, a Turkish director who has become a big hitter in his adopted Italy, often uses gay themes in his films, as here where he fashions a heart-warming, poignant, witty and highly observant story of a dysfunctional family and the problem of trying to make other people happy.

Anderson - Scully from The X Files - turns in a fine Northern accent in this Belfast-set tale of a little lad (McKenna) who helps out at Stott's greyhound kennels and falls for the mutt of the title.