24/26
The two lonely souls embark on a new journey together
Plot
Released from prison, Lang returns to his hometown in northwest China. As part of a dog patrol tasked with getting rid of stray dogs ahead of the 2008 Olympics, he befriends a black stray dog. Eddie Peng [the main character] formed such a strong bond with Xin, the film’s dog, that he adopted him after filming wrapped. A minibus heads towards a desolate small town on the edge of the Gobi Desert. A pack of stray dogs charge towards it, scaring the driver and overturning the bus. Out steps Lang, an ex-convict who was once a popular motorcycle stuntman, now returning to his hometown after 10 years in prison for murdering a local gangster’s nephew. A few conversations with the police later, the title card appears and the magic of Black Dog begins.
So everyone is out to get him
A poetic and minimalist film about healing and growth, depicted through a friendship, a bond, a spiritual connection between man and dog. The man is called Lang and the dog is the infamous skinny black dog that terrorizes the city. It is said that he carries rabies and defends his territory by urinating on walls and biting people. Black Dog tells the story of two lonely stray dogs locked in a cage by a world that does not understand them. Two lost souls, alienated by the society around them. Two black sheep who don’t fit in. Lang is marginalized because of his past as a „murderer“, and the black dog is also alienated among the other stray dogs because he is the biggest, strongest, fastest and most aggressive of all the dogs.
Humans can be, but dogs can’t
One of Guan Hu’s main messages in Black Dog is that no animal is evil. Stray dogs are violent because they are constantly afraid and trying to survive in a changing environment that they don’t belong in. Lang is like a stray dog. He is not like the others. He only says a few words in the entire film because he is very quiet and introverted. Like the black dog, he is trying to make a life for himself in a city that is rapidly modernizing. After his time in prison, Lang has changed, as has the city and the people he once knew.
And this small town is deeply impacted
So now he doesn’t speak, he just exists and goes with the flow. That’s why Lang and the black dog are so perfect for each other and why they immediately connected – they are both trying to survive in a world they no longer know, a world that no longer wants them. Black Dog is set in an important time for China, a time of urbanization and change. Most of its inhabitants have fled, leaving behind their dogs, who now roam the streets and desert hills freely. The zoo has no money to support the animals, so they too are released into the desert. The circus tries to survive, but business is not good. The old one is demolished to make way for the new one, which is a clever parallel to the end of the film, where the black dog dies but leaves behind a new generation of black puppies.
And the final shot of Black Dog is so beautiful and meaningful
The cinematography of Black Dog is beautiful, with Guan Hu adopting Bi Gan’s new Chinese style of „slow cinema“, which made me fall in love with the film almost instantly. Long panoramic shots of beautiful landscapes, quiet scenes of motorbike rides and slow walks on dusty roads and desolate rural villages, all complemented by an atmosphere of solitude. Scenes like Lang and the black dog peacefully walking through the desert strays, and the solar eclipse sequence with the zoo tiger roaming the city streets freely, are two of my favorites of the entire year so far. Through his canine companion, Lang finally learns to move on despite his dark past and find happiness in life’s miseries.
https://promoneum.com/maru-maru-dog-swap-to-sand-the-sandbox/