Black Dog

Black Dog (狗阵, 2024) is a Chinese drama you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Guan Hu. It's summer 2008 and the country is weeks away from the Beijing Olympics. On the far edge of the Gobi Desert, in a town that's been quietly emptying out for years, Lang walks free on early release and comes back to a place that barely remembers him.

Residents have been leaving — and leaving their dogs behind. Strays fill the streets. Local authorities want the town cleaned up before investors arrive, so Lang signs on with the municipal dog-catching crew. There's a black dog out there with a bounty on it. He fails to catch it once. Then their paths cross again. Eddie Peng plays Lang.

What Guan Hu is really filming is the margin — the people and animals that a country in a hurry to look good simply leaves behind. The film is quiet about this, almost stubbornly so, which is what makes it hit. Stream Black Dog online on iFILM.