 Despite an underwhelming performance in the movie theaters , the film received high video sales . Ranking Shiloh as one of his top 10 selections , Roger Ebert praised the film for being a " remarkably mature and complex story about a boy who loves a dog and cannot bear to see it mistreated " , depicting " the real world with all of its terrors and responsibilities " . Shiloh was honored with " best film " at the Chicago International Film Festival . 
