Film: Black Dog

China, 2024, 116 minutes, Colour. Eddie Peng. Directed by Guan Hu.

Sometimes moviegoers say that they would like to see something different, a film from somewhere else, different sensibilities,, entry into a world they are unfamiliar with. Black Dog is an excellent candidate this kind of choice.

We are caught up with a very striking opening, the camera panning unfamiliar vistas of north-western China, vast barren plains and black hills, near the Gobi desert. Suddenly, a large pack of wild dogs run rampage across the screen, down the hills, onto the highway where a minibus of passengers overturns with the impact of the dog rush. The driver impatiently gets the passengers out onto the road, calls the police, and the rescue interrupted by a man frantic, accusing the passengers of stealing a large sum of money from his bag. Then a tall morose man walks away, the frantic man accosting him. But, this is not where this film is going!

In fact, the tall man, Lang will be the central character, rarely speaking, just out of jail, with a complex past. And, we get to know him well, wary of him at first, becoming more and more sympathetic, and he is played by Eddie Peng, Taipei-born, Canada-educated, one of the most popular contemporary stars of Chinese films.

And, there is a black dog, greyhound-looking, suspected of having rabies, a target of the town's authorities. In fact, with the Beijing Olympics in the offing, this is 2008, this provincial town is eager to get rid of the dogs, many of them pets abandoned by citizens moving out, Lang beng seconded onto the squad.

We first see Lang hostile and his black dog marking out their territories, Lang trying to capture him, but, eventually, their bonding, especially after lLang is bitten and rabies suspected. So, a film of human and canine friendship.

But, there is a great deal more to Lang's story, re-meeting his father, now a keeper at the failing zoo, then a sick old man who had supported him in the past, a revelation about Lang's buying and sentence, a local strongman hostile to Lang because of the accidental death of his nephew, Lang revealed as a former motorcycle champion in the circus, his encounter with friends in the town and with a young woman as a new travelling circles circus arrives.

The narrative is never predictable. There is always an interesting turn in the plot, in the revelation of characters, in Lang's confrontation with his opponents, but more and more of his kindly disposition emerging.

For dog-lovers from any nation, there are moments of sadness, but, ultimately, a sequence to cheer every dog-lovers heart.

This is a China unfamiliar to most of us, in look, the bleak terrain, the provincial town partly collapsing, goods trains continually passing through, attempts at rehabilitation and an opportunity to visit a quite different place and encounter very different characters.

Watch a trailer: https://youtu.be/mrpBMPfe4wk?si=MS8AI4xbjij43cXH