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Released from prison, Lang returns to his hometown in northwest China. As part of a dog patrol tasked with clearing out stray dogs ahead of 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. Referenced in Close-Up: The Best Films and Other Results of 2024 (2024). A minibus is heading to a small, desolate town on the edge of the Gobi Desert. A pack of stray dogs charge towards it, startling the driver and overturning the bus. Out steps Lang, an ex-convict who used to be a popular stunt biker, now returning to his hometown after 10 years in prison for the murder of a local gangster’s nephew. A few conversations with the police later, the title card appears and the magic of Black Dog begins. A poetic and minimalist film of healing and overcoming, portrayed through a friendship, a bond, a spiritual connection between man and dog. The man is Lang, and the dog is the infamous black, skinny dog ​​that has been terrorizing the city. Rumored to be rabid, the black dog goes around defending his territory by pissing on walls and biting people, so everyone wants to catch him. Black Dog is a story of two lonely mutts caged by a world that doesn’t understand them. Two lost souls alienated by the society around them. Two black sheep who don’t fit in. Lang is marginalized because of his past as a «killer», and the black dog is also alienated among the other mutts because he is the biggest, strongest, fastest and most aggressive of all the dogs. One of Guan Hu’s main messages in Black Dog is that no animal is evil. Humans may be, but dogs are not. Mutts are violent because they are in constant fear, trying to survive in an evolving environment where they do not belong. Lang is similar to a street dog. He is not like the others. He only says a few words in the entire film, as he is very quiet and introverted. Like the black dog, he is trying to make a life for himself in a city that is in the process of modernization. After his time in prison, Lang has changed, as have the city and the people he has met. So now, he doesn’t speak, he just exists and goes with the flow. This is why Lang and the black dog are so perfect for each other and why they instantly connected – they are both just trying to survive in a world they no longer know, a world that no longer wants them. Black Dog is set at a pivotal time for China, a time of urbanization and change. And this small town is deeply impacted. Most of its residents have fled, leaving behind their dogs, who now roam freely in the streets and in the desert hills. The zoo is running out of money to support the animals, so they are also released into the desert. The circus is trying to survive, but business is not going well. The old is being torn down to make way for the new, which is a clever parallel to the end of the film, where the black dog dies but leaves behind a new generation of black puppies. The cinematography in Black Dog is stunning, with Guan Hu adopting Bi Gan’s new Chinese “slow cinema” style, which made me fall in love with the film almost instantly. Long panning shots of beautiful landscapes, quiet scenes of motorcycle rides and slow walks through dusty roads and desolate rural villages, are all complemented by a solitary atmosphere. Scenes like Lang and the black dog calmly walking past the stray dogs in the desert, and the solar eclipse sequence with the zoo’s tiger roaming freely through the city streets, are two of my favorites of the entire year so far. And the final scene of Black Dog is so beautiful and meaningful. Through his canine companion, Lang finally learns how to continue living despite his dark past, and how to find happiness amidst life’s miseries.

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