27/18
The two lonely souls embark on a new journey together
Scenario
After being 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 befriends a black stray dog. Eddie Peng [the protagonist] formed such a strong bond with Xin, the dog featured in the film, that he adopted him after filming was completed.
“Lang” (Eddie Peng) has returned to his hometown after spending time in prison
As the story unfolds, we learn a little more about the causes of that and about his distant relationship with his father, who kept the zoo, and we discover that he was once one of the most famous citizens of the place by being in a popular local band. With the Beijing Olympics (2008) approaching, the government puts a lot of emphasis on beautifying the place, and that signals some pretty significant “improvements” to his home on the edge of the Gobi Desert. Much of the place has already been demolished and with most of the heart (and soul) of the place already removed, the authorities turn their attention to the serious problem of the hundreds of wild dogs roaming around who can spread rabies.
The problem is that this mutt is no fool and soon starts chasing (and biting) more
There’s one particularly skinny black dog that’s worth 1000 yuan if it can be caught, and that’s the target of biker “Lang”. One particularly embarrassing bite results in both of them being confined to their home in quarantine and it’s then that bonds begin to form and we also realise the degree of hostility some feel towards this man. With bulldozers always around, his ailing father’s zoo no longer able to look after its tenants and vengeful butcher “Hu” (Hu Xiaoguang) and his thugs out for revenge, we get into a story of this new friendship that proves rather engaging.
It’s a slow-moving film, but not overly long, clocking in at two hours and pretty much summarising an existence of routine, lack of opportunity and a desire for true freedom
It’s predictable in stages, but it’s really Peng’s largely dialogue-free effort against a backdrop of relentless winds, dust and trains passing through an increasingly lifeless city that gives it some power. It’s not so much that the city is being evacuated because of the Olympics – although that’s clearly on director Hu Guan’s mind – but why was there ever a city here in this inhospitable place? It’s bleak and desolate, a concrete oasis in the middle of nowhere and that setting works well as the man himself is shown to be lonely, distant and emotionally and physically rootless.
