Kent called it "a sketch of a poem." In Tibet: a childless couple, an old man and his dog, a policeman and a school teacher; in a setting of new town construction, grassland hills, ruins of lost villages, a pastoral simple shepherd's home; populated by sheep, goats, pigs, motorcycles, ponies, trucks and cars. A pool table is set up and played in a muddy street. An infomercial on TV shamelessly tries to sell gold jewelry to people who can barely get signal reception. What will become of the old dog?
Found online:
Old Dog
2011. China. Directed by Pema Tseden. With Yanbum Gyal, Droluma Kyab, Lochey. A young Tibetan decides to sell his family's nomad mastiff, an exotic dog that fetches a fortune from wealthy Chinese. His aging father opposes him, leading to a series of tragicomic events that threaten to tear the family apart. Pema Tseden is the leading filmmaker of a newly emerging Tibetan cinema, and the first director in China to film his movies entirely in the Tibetan language. His third feature, Old Dog employs an observational documentary approach that soberly depicts the erosion of Tibetan culture under the pressures of contemporary society. Courtesy of dGenerate/Icarus. 88 min.
