44/21
Released from prison, Lang returns to his hometown in northwest China
As a member of a dog patrol tasked with cleaning up stray dogs ahead of the 2008 Olympics, he becomes close to a black homeless man.
The two lonely souls embark on a new journey together
Eddie Peng [the lead role] has developed such a strong bond with the film’s featured dog, Xina, that he adopts him after filming is over.
A beautiful, slow-burning and memorable story set in a bleak Chinese countryside with strong performances, direction, writing and structure
The film’s director Guan Hu achieves this by exploring the human-dog relationship from a Chinese perspective, filled with beautiful camerawork, sound design and interesting narrative choices, providing realism, involvement and character exploration in a natural way.
The minimal dialogue, sober approach, artistic pace and style really put the story in a whole new light
The performances from Eddie Peng and the rest of the cast are great and there are a lot of characters, and some of the characters could have been explored a little better.
After winning the Un Certain Regard award, it’s clear to me why
I appreciate the film’s unbiased exploration of dogs, humanism, and society, and for creating something unique.
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