Mar 14, 2018
Today’s movie is “White God” (2015), the Hungarian drama film directed by Kornél Mundruczó and written in collaboration with Viktória Petrányi and Kata Wéber. The film follows Lili (Zsófia Psotta), a thirteen-year-old girl, and Hagen (Body & Luke), a mixed breed dog who is abandoned by Lili’s father, Dániel (Sándor Zsótér), refusing to pay a special tax levied on mixed breed dogs.
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
So, let me answer the burning question – why “White God”? Mundruczó said it’s based on South African author J.M. Coatzee’s novel “Disgrace”, an allusion to how the dogs see (and are treated by) humans as a God, and love them more than they love themselves. The dogs are subjected to apartheid-like conditions, but that’s about where the comparisons between the novel reference and the film end.
Mundruczó worked with a 250 dog cast for this film, having to create the horrific journey of Hagen being trafficked to a dog fight trainer, who juices him and forces him to fight another dog, not to mention being sent to a mixed breed shelter to be executed. The journey of Hagen is so well told, with excellent camera angles and music choices to really sell this otherwise unlikely story, not to mention the excellent use of music as a part of the story.
The last major section of the film involves Hagen leading all the mixed breed shelter dogs out into the city, beginning a trail of revenge to take out all those humans who used him and so many other dogs. I found myself torn between absolute horror at each scene and having empathy for the dogs at the same time. And with the film’s final, powerful scene, we understand the absolute limits of the allegory.
“White God” (2015) is one of the most unique films I’ve ever seen, one that borders on the edge of surrealism through great storytelling, excellent composition, and a willingness to take huge risks. If you can stand some graphic scenes, and don’t mind intentionally artistic films, then you’ll definitely appreciate this film, and may even roll a tear or two at the end.
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% (CERTIFIED)
Metacritic: 80
One Movie Punch: 8.8/10
“White God” (2015) is rated R and is streaming on Netflix.