Chronology
After being released from prison, Lang returns to his hometown in northwest China. As part of a dog patrol tasked with removing stray dogs ahead of the 2008 Olympics, he bonds with a black stray dog. The two lonely souls embark on a new journey together. Eddie Peng [the main character] develops such a strong bond with Xin, the dog in the film, that he adopts him after filming wrapped. I had no idea what to expect when I saw this film. It was slow but engaging. The setting is set in a somewhat bleak setting, but it really opened my eyes to how people live in parts of China. Life is harsh, barren, and treeless, but the city is gearing up for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and propaganda is blaring from the loudspeakers in true communist China fashion. While it is a thought-provoking film, it has some pretty funny parts, and while there isn’t much dialogue, what is NOT said is thought-provoking. I can see why this film won at CANNES.
