BLACK DOG (GOU ZHEN) World Cinema

Recently released from prison, the hardened Lang (Taiwanese action star Eddie Peng) struggles to adjust to life on the outside. He returns to his dusty little mountain town in the Gobi Desert only to find it overrun by feral dogs. In search of a job, he joins the motley crew (led by CAUGHT BY THE TIDES filmmaker Jia Zhangke), trying to round them up as part of a Beijing Olympics project. He’s warned about a brutal black dog — a fast, lanky whippet rumored to have rabies. But instead of capturing him, Lang befriends the stray and finds his own tough exterior melting just a little. When Lang’s past catches up with him, he will need to rely on his faithful companion to survive. With gorgeous widescreen cinematography and dazzling action sequences, this bristling, epic neo-noir earned filmmaker Guan Hu the Prix Un Certain Regard at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. –Josh Gardner