A melancholic dead-pan drama about Lang, a former celebrity musician and stunt rider who, chastened by ten years in jail for manslaughter, returns to his dusty post-industrial hometown to find it run-down and over-run by abandoned dogs.

Lang joins a group of dog-catchers with the task of cleaning up the town on the eve of the 2028 Beijing Olympics. Dogs are running wild, but one is special: a black whippet cross that takes a disarming liking to Lang. Black Dog is slow and gentle, satirical and playful: a travelling circus comes to town, romance may find a way, yet small-town drama is always on the boil. Contrasting beautiful widescreen filming of the Gobi Desert with noir moodiness and slapstick absurdity, Guan’s film gives a bittersweet perspective. The love between a dog and human may heal, but ultimately cannot save the world. This is a beautiful unpretentious film, which won the top prize of Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024. Highgloss