Awarded by the Golden Palm in the section Un Certain Regard, Black Dog stood out from the other contemplative proposals of the selection by his staggered humour combined with a certain poetry. Lang returned to his hometown at the gates of the Gobi desert after a complicated passage through prison. Missioned by a patrol of small local strikes, he must rid the city of stray dogs. The animals have been spreading since the end of the 2008 Olympics and the subsequent rural exodus away from the original promises of abundance. It is then that he becomes friends with a skinny dog accused of being wrongly or rightly rabid.
Dog loves
Like Caught by the Tides, Black Dog chose an almost mutic personage. Lang saves his words and prefers action rather than long speeches. Not belligerent but ready to defend himself if necessary, Lang has a broken arm side, like the other rare inhabitants of the vintage, also damaged by life. At the opening scene, Black Dog immediately immerse us in its vast semi-arid expanses. With its sandy photograph, the image is granular and shows a curious mixture between Mad Max and Chernobyl. This grain reminds us that life is full of bitterness. These arid steppes that separate Mongolia from the People's Republic could very well be the scene of a western. Or that of a ghost town built around an old oil well long ago tari.
Far from the opulence and gigantism of the megalopolises that grow like mushrooms on this continent country, this small city in the middle of nothingness suggests a life past and definitely behind it. After its inhabitants left these urban centres and abandoned their pets, the places are now infested with stray dogs. In his heart, some shops still resist, even though exchanges are rare. Episodic, human relations are broken and without a future. Village gangs are trying to pull their pins off a zero-sum game. A lost bet. But Lang, on the other hand, is a free electron, a marginal, in the image of this rachitic dog with a lechery look and which is said to be rabid. A small group continues to harass him for the crimes he allegedly committed in the past, without any real knowledge of whether this is a real thirst for revenge or a struggle of local authorities. No matter what, it's not essential, life follows its course with or without these unworked lobbies.
Case dog
In this region in ruins and in the air of postapocalyptic world, old rides and a zoo still proudly stand in the center, as a distant memory of a past era. Out of the field, in rare sequences, one guesses the sick father who keeps Lang in this state of waiting, neither in prison nor completely free. Made in tribute to his own deceased father, the film Guan Hu It's dedicated to him. Black Dog is not a musical film, far from it, and the only song that arises was not chosen at random. When acoustic guitars succeed the synthesizers and bass seriouss, we immediately recognize Hey you. Pink Floyd. This iconic song tells of the shift towards the madness of his main character, when he understands the mistake he made in trying to isolate himself from the rest of the world and then tries to reconnect with others. An artistic choice that makes the message even stronger than Guan Hu chose to convey simple emotions first through image and silence, rather than through omnipresent music.
These two bruised creatures are also going to learn to rebuild together. The work of dressing done impresses so much one would think human emotions behind the look of this wild dog highly expressive. From one incongruous situation to another, we attach to this unfortunate duo. These marginals never really give up. Leaving to fall, they rise tirelessly and head down.
The staggered humour is always to the right extent, with small, cleverly dosed touches. We must see this first encounter that started so badly as Lang urinated on a wall in ruins. Attacked by this black dog, he retreats before he understands that the animal only wanted to mark its territory in the same place... A whole metaphor that shows us by absurdly the difficulty of finding his marks when we lost everything. Lang who never leaves his bike will turn her into a sidecar for his new companion. These two breaks of life will then learn to tame one another. Black Dog shows the process of mourning and the long journey to learn to live in harmony with one's peers. Guan Hu demonstrates to the picture that loneliness is not an irremediable burden.
Trailer of Black Dog
Thank you, this review is beautiful. This film is breathtaking, the image is splendid and the emotion touches at every moment.