At its core, Black Dog is a story of two troubled soulmates who complete each other. The only exception being that the two soulmates here are Lang and his black stray dog. Lang in many ways is similar to the stray black dog – he is misunderstood by the society, almost driven out of town and in captive due to the laws of the land, and often left to fend for himself in the new world that he is thrown in. The difference though is that Lang is the quieter of the two – he doesn’t pushback or showcase his aggressive instinct throughout the film, unlike the black dog which is known to spread rabies through his bites. This automatically makes Lang consumed in his misery while he is filled with a range of negativity without an outlet to let go of it. Hence, Black Dog can also be looked upon as a coming of age drama for Lang wherein he forms a compassionate bond with his stray pet, only to in turn have a purpose in life.

The politics of the drama is an important catalyst and a trigger, something that plays out in the background. The sleepy town of Chixina is subjected to rules that are directly imposed without an iota of negotiation or discussion on them. The capitalist ambitions of the state in wanting to create an image of China for the outer world to appreciate, thereby creating opportunities of development is something that coaxes the authorities to set up bounties for the stray animals. It must be noted that these strays were once pets of people who have left town, leaving animals to fend for themselves. And in the jungle wherein the rule is the survival of the fittest, the aggressive streak with respect to the pets is just a natural instinct.

In this chaos, you are further acquainted to Lang who is a closet rebel (not without a cause) who uncannily develops a sense of empathy towards the strays. Even as his patrolling group indulge in activities of grabbing their bounties (read : pets), you see him holding his ground with calmness, almost reminiscent of his times in jail wherein he didn’t attack the food that was given to him. It is probably his ability of hopelessness and misery that has triggered this state. However, he is able to empathize with people around him because of this trait. In a scene, you see him sneaking out a captured pet and quickly handing it over to its owner, a young girl crying at the thought of being separated from her pet. This also means that he has run ins with his own group, thereby given the task of transporting the animals to their destination, a moment that brings him closer to his black dog, regarded as the deadliest stray in the vicinity.

There is a bittersweet feeling accompanying the dynamics between Lang and his pet. In a scene, you see him empathizing with his state of having to spend the night in the cold terrain of the Gobi desert, that forces him to cuddle with his pet, until he is bitten while trying to capture it with his tools. Clearly, the pet is dealing with its own set of vulnerabilities that stems from the hate that it got from all quarters. Yet slowly but surely, you see the duo warming up to each other, even as Lang volunteers to give his pet a bath and an occasional tap on his forehead, while the pet in return, saves a drunk Lang from an accident in the desert. It must also be noted that the process of healing for Lang is a slow one. The people around him are still holding the cards to his freedom – his father is unwell and pleads for him to pull the plug, his sister is neckdeep in debt that doesn’t allow her to visit them, a gangster who is hellbent on extracting revenge for a misdeed committed by Lang, a circus worker warming up to Lang without being committal. But for Lang, the purest form of emotion lays with his little pet that would soon be taken away by a twist of fate.

The entire last act is designed as a form of redemption for Lang. The tone remains bittersweet here wherein much of the emotions are designed to make you feel hollow. The new life of Lang is represented by the land that you see on the other side of a dilapidated bridge, wherein multiple attempts made to cross it are futile. Yet, the form of acceptance coupled with a set of good karma with respect to Lang is what makes this journey heartfelt. It was almost like a philosophy of life – all your connections, good and bad, need to be ended for you to start on a new journey, something that is synonymous with the life of Lang. The sense of freedom is also synonymous to the land for animals who are set free, and free to roam much like Lang in a way, who ends his connections, voluntarily or involuntarily to cross the broken bridge, and eventually smile in his new journey. The smile here is representative of his arc too given how his futile attempt to smile in a photo op for an official document is shot down by the official, only for him to flash it at his will towards the end. The screenplay is brilliantly penned and makes for a heartfelt watch.