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.

1. A different view of 21^st-century China? Geography and landscapes, towns. the developments, in decline, rebuilding, dog plagues, in the context of the preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics?
2. The impact of the photography, colour, style, saturated at times, the landscapes and the overviews, close-ups and characters, the contrast between the vastness and intimacy?
3. The impact of the opening, the vice spaces, the hills, the desert, the sudden packs of dogs? The overturn of the bus, the passengers, the man complaining about being robbed, the authorities, Lang accused, walking away?
4. Lang becoming the unexpected centre of the film, the explanations of his background, his skill with bikes, cars, mechanics, writing? The violence, the local gangster chief and the death of his nephew? The prison experience? Returning, the state of his father, at the zoo with the animals, declining health? The welcome home? Reactions against him? His character, silent, self-contained?
5. The issue of the dogs, the number of wild dogs, roaming the plains and mountains, the authorities, the bounties? The black dog, lurking, the difficulty with rabies, Lang trying to catch it, being bitten, the consequences? His joining the group, the pursuit of the dogs, destruction? His care of the dogs, his change of heart? With the black dog, keeping, protecting?
6. The travelling circus, the encounter, the young woman and her presence, the other members of the troupe, setting it up, performance? His friendship with the young woman, the conversations, her leaving?
7. His skill at reading, the impact of the riding sequences, his age, fitness, skills, the difficult terrain?
8. The issue of health, the rabies, his recovery?
9. The gangster, his gang, focus, resentments, anger with Lang? Working with the snakes? His being bitten, Lang saving him? The consequences?
10. His father, illness, hospital, wanting the equipment turned off? Lang, his hesitation, eventually doing it?
11. The death of the dog, finding all the other dog, giving birth, the spirit of the black dog continuing?
12. The effect of the audience sharing Lang’s experience, unexpected sympathy? In the context of the decline of the town, the motif of the goods trains passing through the town, the demolition of buildings, possible recovery? And the impression for China and outside China for the Beijing Olympics?