Cinema: "Black Dog" in Ilanz

After his release from prison, Lang returns to his hometown on the edge of the Gobi Desert. As part of a dog patrol that is supposed to clean the town of stray dogs before the 2008 Olympic Games, he makes an unexpected friendship with a greyhound. Director Guan Hu creates a visually stunning work between Western and neo-noir, with laconic humor and characterized by the social realism of Jia Zhangke, who shines in a supporting role alongside superstar Eddie Peng.

In 2008, the Summer Olympics in Beijing are just around the corner. While the country is preparing for the major sporting event, the authorities of the provincial town of Chixia are targeting the growing number of stray dogs. They have nested in the abandoned houses, ruins that will soon have to give way to progress. The corrupt gang leader and restaurant owner Yao (Jia Zhangke) has taken over the organization of the patrol that is supposed to catch the strays. Lang, who has just returned from prison to his hometown, is one of them. When the taciturn young man meets the particularly feared black dog, for whom the authorities have put a bounty on his head, the two outsiders form an unexpected friendship.

Guan Hu is one of the most successful Chinese directors of the present day. With The 800, he broke all records in China, and the film epic even became the most commercially successful cinema film worldwide in 2020. With Black Dog, he now turns to social realism and exposes the gap between propaganda and reality in the Middle Kingdom. The feature film, which won an award in Cannes, convinces with beguiling imagery and excellent acting. Last but not least, it is a wonderful ode to the friendship between humans and animals, which takes off with the soundtrack: Pink Floyd and the vastness of the Gobi Desert – the perfect symbiosis.