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The Gobi desert is impressive in its desolation, but what's even more so is the desolation of this run-down small town just before the Beijing Olympic Games from 2008. I don't think I have ever seen something quite like it, on screen or in reality. This is dystopia on earth, in the not so distant past. I guess it's the only thing quietly criticizing the regime or showing the failure of Chinese society, good thing the movie is focused on something else entirely and probably that's how it got past censorship, but I am still impressed.

No animals were harmed during the making of this movie. Kidding. No, but seriously, I do not understand how they made this movie. Packs of stray dogs, it's the humans that are guilty. How many dogs this town has managed to abandon is again impressive.

Should have ended with the animals roaming free on the town streets, that felt like the climax of the movie and had a bit of a surreal feel.

Is dog man the equivalent of cat lady?

It didn't quite work for me, despite what my eyes were able to take in. I couldn't connect to the character or even root for him in particular. The plot felt aimless. Those bozos chasing him for revenge kept popping up and doing the most heinous things and then they would let it go. And then again. It made no sense. And honestly after the snakes they were irredeemable. In fact quite a lot of questionable characters here. Our lead is not particularly sympathetic either.

But OMG Jia Zhangke acts in this movie! I was actually comparing the look to Unknown Pleasures. I guess he wanted to support the movie.

A minibus is heading for a small, desolate town on the edge of the Gobi desert. A pack of stray dogs charges towards it, scaring the driver and tipping over the bus. Out of it comes Lang, an ex-convict who used to be a popular stunt motorcyclist, 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 moving on, portrayed through a friendship, a bond, a spiritual connection between man and dog. The man is Lang, and the dog is the infamous thin black dog that has been terrorizing the town. Rumored of carrying rabies, the black dog goes around defending his territory by pissing on walls and biting people, so everyone is out to catch him.

Black Dog is a story of two lonely strays caged by a world that does not understand them. Two lost souls alienated by the society around them. Two black sheep who do not fit in. Lang is marginalized because of his past as a "murderer", and the black dog is also alienated amongst the other strays for being 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 can be, but dogs cannot. Stray dogs are violent because they're in constant fear, trying to survive in an evolving environment where they do not belong. Lang is similar to a stray dog. He's not like the others. He only says a few words in the whole film as he's very quiet and introverted. Like the black dog, he's trying to make a life for himself in a town that's in the process of modernization. After his time in prison, Lang has changed, and so did the town and the people he once knew. So now, he doesn't speak, he only exists and goes with the flow. That's why Lang and the black dog are so perfect for each other and why they instantly connected-they're both just trying to survive in a world they no longer know, a world that no longer wants them.

Black Dog is set during an important time for China, a time of urbanization and change. And this little town is impacted deeply. Most of its residents have fled, leaving their dogs behind, who now roam free in the streets and in the desert hills. The zoo is running out of money to sustain the animals, so they too are freed in the desert. The circus is trying to survive, but business hasn't been good. The old is being demolished to make way for the new, which is a clever pararell with the ending of the film, where the black dog dies but leaves behind a new generation of black puppies. The cinematography of Black Dog is gorgeous, with Guan Hu adopting the new "slow-cinema" Chinese style of Bi Gan, which made me fall in love with the film almost instantly. Long, panoramic shots of beautiful landscapes, quiet scenes of motorcycle rides and slow walks through dusty roads and desolate rural villages, are all complemented with a lonesome atmosphere.

Scenes like Lang and the black dog calmly passing through the desert's stray dogs, and the solar eclipse sequence with the zoo's tiger wandering the town's streets freely, are two of my favorite of the entire year so far. And the final shot of Black Dog is so beautiful and meaningful. Through his canine companion, Lang finally learns how to keep on living despite his dark past, and how to find happiness within life's miseries. The Pink Floyd soundtrack gives a certain nostalgia to Guan Hu's relaxing images, and the acting performances are absolutely stellar, human and animal alike, from Eddie Peng to the black dog named Xiao Xin, and the majestic tiger. Just the fact that Eddie Peng developed such a strong bond with Xiao Xin while filming that he felt he had to adopt him afterwards, is a beautiful real-life illustration of the message of this wonderful film. A melancholic and meditative journey of finding your place in the world through friendship, and a genuine tribute to man's best friend, Black Dog is simply one of the best films of the year, and proof that Chinese arthouse cinema is still very much alive.

This movie is not what I have expected. I was forced to sit through it with a very uninteresting viewing experience. The screen play is quite boring, loosely knitted together with no energy, no steam at all, but just a lifeless narration. What we saw in this movie is a dying town in the northern China, the livelihood is totally gone after the mining business died. What left is a pathetic town with so many ruined and empty buildings, just like what we saw in Flint, Indiana. The leading character, the protagonist as movie critics or veteran reviewers used to describe, Peng, seems to be an bad choice for such ex-con character, a complete out-of-the-place actor to play this role. His dialogue in this movie is minimum in order to portray that this guy is a loner who belongs to nowhere, even in prison, albeit his so-called hometown. There is not much to tell in this movie, and I really failed to see how the director of this movie would have won some nominations as the best director. Maybe less is more is the current trendy. Making a black stray dog as the co-acting role is just not interested enough to stimulate my urge that would give me any passion or empanthy to the whole storyline. I felt quite impatient when I watched this movie. All of the characters who appeared in this movie, those folks, young or old, cops or civilians who tried to get by in a dying town are interested enough, just like their boring dialogue to each other, to the leading role who looked more like a half dumb or deaf person. If a town is dying, if all the town folks are poor, if all of them lose hope, if their daily lives are all so boring, what would enable to make a movie interesting? Even you put a seasoned actor like Peng to play the leading character, how much he could possibly make this boring town with so many boring town folks become a bit more interesting? A spiritless young man and a black stray dog is as boring as Hemingway's "The Old Man and The Sea", other than somewhat literary values that usually was glorified as "Literature". Trying to tell you that "Black Dog" has certain philosophic depth is just a pretentious view that tries to look deep. How could you get anything out of nothing?

A beautiful, slow-burn, and memorizing tale of the grim environment of the rural parts of China with strong performances, direction, writing, and structure. Filmmaker Guan Hu achieves with exploring the relationship between man and dog from a Chinese perspective and filled with gorgeous camerawork, sound designs, and interesting narrative choices, it brings out the realism, engagement, and examination of the characters in a nature way.

With little dialogue, the sobering approach, art-house pacing, and style really brings the narrative into a whole new light. The performances from Eddie Peng and the rest of the cast are great and many of the characters, while some characters could have been explored a little better. I appreciate the movie on exploring about dogs, humanism and society without a biased approach and crafting something that is unique.

Having won the Un Certain Regard prize, I can see why.

I had no idea idea what to expect when I saw this movie. It was slow moving but fully engrossing. It is set amongst a somewhat grim environment but really opened my eyes to how people exist in some parts of China. It is an austere existence, barren and treeless yet the town is gearing up for the 2008 Beijing Olympics with propaganda blasted over the loudspeakers in true communist China fashion.

Although it is a sobering film, there are several parts that are quite humorous and while it isn't heavy on dialogue, it is what NOT is said that makes you think.

I can see what this was a winner at CANNES.