It’s barking mad! That’s not meant as a throw-away pun, but a commentary on the film’s premise, execution and character development. The movie works as a fable, a comedy, a thriller and a love story, neatly packed into an economic and clear-cut runtime of just under two hours. Set in the recent past, 2008 to be exact, Black Dog serves as a commentary on contemporary Northwestern Chinese relations, making it a polemical feature that avoids subscribing to one particular apotheosis.

It’s all there in the opening shot: A herd of dogs race across an arid mountain path, narrowly missing a bus that flips over the corner. The passengers survive the fall, but they huddle together like a flock waiting for a shepherd to guide them home. Between the squabbles and the cross words sits Lang, a convict returning home to a city that has changed irrevocably in the decade he spent behind bars. Lang says very little, but carries on with his journey, keenly aware of the gossip occurring in the backdrop. His return home is initially fruitless: Those that speak to him demand that he visit his ailing father at the zoo, and those that don’t only do so because they would fight him the first chance they get. In his solitude, Lang passes the streets he grew up on, now more decrepit to the towers he remembered as a child.It’s at this point the titular dog appears to bite the protagonist, who chases the man off his “land”. The animal, it is clear, is wanted by the authorities – rabies is bad for business, and the Olympics are coming up.

Lang leaps into action, determined to net this beast, and after some trepidation, places the pooch in a cage. Mute as ever, Lang doesn’t explain why he changes his mind – although the bars do look scarily like a prison – yet takes the creature to his place, where he entertains the pet with treats, whistles and Pink Floyd songs. The more time they spend together, the closer they bond, and soon they are virtually inseparable, much to everyone’s amusement/bemusement.

Director Hu Guan has a keen eye for geography,as he lets the camera exhibit a perilous drop from the top of the cliff; a real coup du cinema. There are some shoddy special effects, but for the most part, Guan shoots it with great honesty and commitment, the focus devoted entirely to the mammals on the screen. The surreality stems from the script: a tale of camaraderie between two strays who do not belong in this changing country. Guan ups the stakes by introducing a side character who wants retribution for the misery Lang has brought him; a happy distraction from some of the whimsier aspects in the story.

Judging from first viewing, the central dissertation of Black Dog seems to be that love takes many forms: from an owner to his pet, from a son to his sick parent. When Lang meets his ill father, he agrees to search for alcohol, in the hope of bringing cheeriness to a life missing it. Like the dog in his back garden, Lang cares for his parents, signifying a synchronicity between the three males at a time when two of them – father and domestic companion – are facing great personal peril. Guan includes a montage at a race course, detailing the poor conditions pets endure in certain parts of China. Tellingly, the film ends with a disclaimer that no animals were harmed during the production (this presumably includes “eaten”).

Black Dog is also notable for its musical content. It includes a blinding instrumental rendition of Roger Waters’ favourite Mother. There is a poster of The Wall (Alan Parker, 1982) in his living room, furthering the metaphor of entrapment and desolation that exists both inside and outside the property. But rather than wait for the worms as Pink does sings on The Wall, Lang introduces a canine friend into this life, in to protect and comfort through good times and hard. Black Dog is a very good work; barking mad too!

Black Dog premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 77th Cannes International Film Festival, when this piece was originally written. Also showing in the 4th Red Sea International Film Festival. In cinemas on Friday, August 30th.