46/28
The two lonely souls embark on a new journey together
Line of Events
After being released from prison, Lang returns to his hometown in northwest China. Before the 2008 Olympics, he was bonded with a black stray dog as a member of the dog patrol tasked with cleaning up stray dogs. Eddie Peng [the lead actor] developed such a strong bond with Xin, the dog in the film, that he adopted him after filming was over.
“Lang” (Eddie Peng) has returned to his hometown after a prison sentence
As the story progresses, we learn a little more about the reasons for this and the zookeeper’s distant relationship with his father, and we learn that he was once one of the most famous citizens of a popular band. For the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the government put a lot of emphasis on improving the venue, and this represents a significant “improvement” to his home on the edge of the Gobi Desert. Most of it is already slated for demolition, and with much of the heart (and soul) of the place already removed, authorities are turning their attention to the serious problem of hundreds of wild dogs potentially spreading rabies.
Thing is, this stubborn guy is no fool and will soon be chasing (and biting) more
There’s one particularly skinny black one, worth 1000 yuan if you can catch it, and it’s the target of biker “Lang”. In one particularly awkward skit we see him locked in his quarantined home, and it’s then that bonds begin to form and we discover the extent of the animosity some people feel towards this man. With the bulldozers not far away, his ailing father’s zoo no longer able to care for its tenants, and the vengeful butcher “Hu” (Hu Xiaoguang) and his vengeful thugs, we delve into the story of this newly formed friendship, which is very engaging.
Is this a hostile place in the place?
It’s predictable at times, but it’s actually Peng’s largely dialogue-free effort set against the backdrop of relentless winds, dust and trains tearing through an increasingly lifeless city that gives it some power. It’s not so much that the city is being cleaned up because of the Olympics – although that’s clearly on director Hu Guan’s mind – but that’s why there was a city here in the first place. It’s bleak and desolate, a concrete oasis in the middle of nowhere, and this setting works well because the man himself seems lonely, detached, emotionally and physically rootless.
Mind you, not a lot happens, but I enjoyed it
It’s a slow watch but one that doesn’t drag on for two hours and pretty much sums up the existence of mundanity, a lack of choice and a desire for a true sense of freedom.