39/48
Tale
Released from prison, Lang returns to his hometown in northwest China
As part of a dog patrol tasked with clearing out stray dogs before the 2008 Olympics, he is joined by a black stray dog.
The two lonely souls embark on a new journey together
Eddie Peng [the protagonist] formed such a strong bond with Xin, the dog featured in the film, that he adopted him after filming wrapped.
A beautiful, slow-burning and memorable story about the bleak environment of rural China with strong performances, direction, writing and structure
Filmmaker Guan Hu manages to explore the relationship between man and dog from a Chinese perspective and, packed with gorgeous camera work, sound designs and interesting narrative choices, brings out the realism, engagement and analysis of the characters in a natural way.
With little dialogue, the sobering approach, pacing and art-house style really bring the narrative into a whole new light
The performances by Eddie Peng and the rest of the cast are great and many of the characters, although some characters could have been explored a little better, I appreciate the film for exploring dogs, humanism and society without a biased approach and for creating something unique .