Black Dog

2024 1h 56m ZH

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 243

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Released from jail, Lang returns to his hometown in Northwest China. As part of a dog patrol tasked with clearing stray dogs before the 2008 Olympics, he bonds with a black stray. The two lonely souls embark on a new journey together.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Eddie Peng Yu-Yan
Lang Yonghui
Tong Liya
Grape
Jia Zhangke
Uncle Yao
Zhang Yi
Manager
Zhou You
Nie Shili
Hu Xiaoguang
Butcher Hu
Wang Yiquan
Police Officer Liu
Niu Ben
Mr. Camel

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Guan Hu
Writers: Guan Hu, Ge Rui, Guan Hu
Languages: Mandarin
Countries: China

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 2 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

CAST

Did you know

318+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Guan Hu, shot by Gao Weizhe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Breton Vivian. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Li Weiwen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Eddie Peng Yu-Yan and Tong Liya and Jia Zhangke carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt28131427 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Guan Hu directs. Gao Weizhe behind the camera. Breton Vivian scores. Li Weiwen cuts. Produced in China. Dialogue in Mandarin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 2 years ago.
2318+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
3Directed by Guan Hu, shot by Gao Weizhe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Breton Vivian. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Li Weiwen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Eddie Peng Yu-Yan and Tong Liya and Jia Zhangke carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt28131427 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gao Weizhe
Original score: Breton Vivian
Editing: Li Weiwen
Production design: Tingxiao Huo
Costume design: Chen Dian
Makeup / hair: Yang Hong
VFX supervisor: Danny Yin
Sound: Fu Kang
Stunt coordinator: Fu Xiaojie
Runtime: 116 min · 1h 56m
Status: Released
Box office: $4,600,000
Original language: ZH
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Black Dog (2024)

Also by

Guan Hu

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-09-01
★ 7/10
"Lang" (Eddie Peng) has returned to his hometown after a term in prison. We learn a little more about the causes of that and of his distant relationship with his zoo-keeping father as the story develops, as well as discovering that he once was one of the place's more famous citizens being in a popular local band. With the Beijing Olympiad (2008) looming large, there is quite an emphasis for the government on tarting the place up - and that signals quite significant "improvements" for their home on the edge of the Gobi desert. Much of it has already been earmarked for demolition, and with most of the heart (and soul) of the place already removed, the authorities turn their attention to the serious problem of hundreds of feral dogs marauding around potentially spreading rabies. There is one particularly skinny black one that is worth 1000 Yuan if it can be caught, and that's the target for the motor-cycling "Lang". Thing is, this mutt is no mug, and is soon doing more of the chasing (and biting). One particularly embarrassing nibble sees both confined to his home in quarantine and that's when the bonds begin to become established and we also realise the extent of hostility felt by some to this man. With the bulldozers never far away, his ailing dad's zoo no longer able to care for it's tenants and the vengeful butcher "Hu" (Hu Xiaoguang) and his thugs out for revenge, we settle into a tale of this newfound friendship that's quite engaging. It's predictable in stages, but it's really the largely dialogue-free effort from Peng set against a backdrop of relentless winds, dust and trains rolling through the increasingly lifeless town that gives this a bit of potency. It's not so much that the town is being cleared because of the Olympics, though that's clearly on director Hu Guan's mind, it's that why was a town ever here in this inhospitable place in the place? It's bleak and forlorn, a concrete oasis in the middle of nowhere and that setting works well as the man himself comes across as lonely, detached as well as emotionally and physically rootless. It's a slow watch, but not one that drags, for two hours and it rather effectively sums up an existence of mundanity, lack of opportunity and a desire for a true sense of freedom quite well. Be warned, not a great deal happens - but I did enjoy it.
Brent Marchant2025-04-01
★ 7/10
Many films about the special relationship between man and his four-legged best friend have been made over the years, and it’s a formula that nearly always manages to please. So it is with the latest offering from writer-director Guan Hu, the story of a former inmate who’s been paroled to his hometown on the fringe of the Gobi Desert in northwestern China after 10 years in prison for a manslaughter conviction, an incident in which he had apparently become unwittingly involved. As he seeks to make amends for his past and start his life over, former motorcycle stunt artist/musician Lang Yonghui (Eddie Peng) returns to his roots as China had become engaged in an aggressive, ongoing national program of upgrading its infrastructure in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In this case, this undertaking is a much-needed improvement for a faltering community that has become seriously run down and depopulated. And that exodus, in turn, has created a secondary problem: as many former residents departed, they abandoned their pets (especially dogs), creating a population of strays that has now ballooned to overwhelming proportions. Given this preponderance of feral canines – many of whom have become unruly, vicious and a public health risk – local authorities are in desperate need of help in rounding them up. In light of that, as part of Lang’s government-sanctioned reintegration program, he is assigned to a job in animal control. But, as something of an unassuming soft touch, he struggles to carry out his duties. That becomes particularly true when he’s charged with corralling a gaunt, mangy, assertively territorial black dog (Xin) suspected of having rabies, a scenario that leads to a decidedly belligerent confrontation between man and beast. However, once the stray is in custody, Lang and his captive begin developing an unexpectedly close bond. Lang ends up adopting the pooch, and they thus embark on an odyssey of self-discovery for themselves and one another as they work through issues of their own making and the exploration of their newfound relationship. The result is a heartwarming tale filled with genuine affection and loving mutual support, admittedly sometimes a tad obvious in their depiction but undoubtedly always sincere to the core. The narrative truly works best when it focuses on this primary relationship, a story thread that, regrettably, is sometimes intruded upon a little too much by an array of subplots whose variable, sometimes under-explained development and occasionally meandering nature can detract from what works best. Nevertheless, these minor distractions aside, “Black Dog” is an otherwise-engaging, enjoyable saga of two outcasts in search of redemption and the wonders that the power of friendship can work for those looking to get their lives back on track. But, then, that’s why our four-legged furry companions have deservedly earned their reputation as man’s best friends. This winner of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard Award and Independent Spirit Award nominee for Best International Film is available for streaming online.