Director: Guan Hu

Stars: Eddie Peng, Tong Liya, Jia Zhangke, Zhang Yi, Zhou You

Chinese director-co-writer Guan Hu’s picture is a laidback but arresting combo of Western, road movie, redemption tale and deadpan absurdism. A surreal opening sequence sees a small bus making its way along the outskirts of the Gobi Desert before it is attacked by a pack of wild dogs and topples over. The passengers seem amusingly nonchalant as they dust themselves off. One of them is Lang (Peng), a recently released prisoner returning to his desolate hometown. Sullen and uncommunicative, Lang was something of a local celebrity as a guitarist and stunt bike rider but is uncomfortable when people recognize him. He moves into the old family home to find that his father, once a local bigwig, is now an alcoholic who works at the zoo. The town is being cleared of wild dogs in time for the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, so Lang gets a job working as a dogcatcher while avoiding the attentions of vengeful mob boss Butcher Hu (Jia Zhang-ke). During one doggie clean up mission, Lang encounters a mangy greyhound and the two form an attachment. The picture sports a leisurely pace but captivates due to its series of random, surprising incidents, as well as cinematographer Gao Weizhe’s epic widescreen rendering of the Gobi Desert-adjacent environs, and a lowkey but impressively physical performance from Peng, with Lang’s relationship with the dog redolent of something from Chaplin or Keaton. An appealing air of tentative hope seeps in as the film moves to its conclusion.

David Willoughby

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