Thirteen-year-old Lili fights to protect her dog Hagen. She is devastated when her father eventually sets Hagen free on the streets. Still innocently believing love can conquer any difficulty, Lili sets out to find her dog and save him.
Director:
Kornél MundruczóWriters:
Kornél Mundruczó (screenplay), Viktória Petrányi(screenplay),Stars:
Zsófia Psotta, Sándor Zsótér, Lili Horváth |Storyline
Thirteen-year-old Lili fights to protect her dog Hagen. She is devastated when her father eventually sets Hagen free on the streets. Still innocently believing love can conquer any difficulty, Lili sets out to find her dog and save him.274 dogs were used in the making of this movie which is the world record for the most dogs used in a feature film.All of the dogs who appear on film are mixed breeds adopted from animal shelters.
Did You Know?
Trivia
All of the dogs who appear on film are mixed breeds adopted from animal shelters.274 dogs were used in the making of this movie which is the world record for the most dogs used in a feature film.Hagen is portrayed by twin dogs Luke and Body. They were found in a caravan park in Arizona just as their owner was about to take them to an animal shelter.Official submission of Hungary to the best foreign language film category of the 87th Academy Awards 2015.User Reviews
"White God", and known in its native language as "Fehér isten", and Hungary's nominee for this years Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, charts the relationship between a girl called Lili (played by Zsófia Psotta) and her dog Hagen (played by twin dogs Luke and Body). Yet when Lili's father dumps Hagen on the streets because of a new tax on mixed-breeds, although the film attempts to place an equal focus on both Lili and Hagen, the latter's story is much more compelling, and for the first time I've seen in a live-action film, we have a dog as the main character.
At this stage in the film, "White God" shines when Hagen is on screen. With an origins story comparable to that of Caesar's in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", once Hagen is dumped on the streets he is found and trained up to be a fighting dog. From here the familiar canine domestic nature we are all used is beaten out of him. Yet it's in moments like when Hagen wins his first fight, almost killing the other dog in front of him that we can tell that Hagen doesn't like what he's done nor what he's been forced into. For a dog to convey this sounds ridiculous and considering that, it's impossible not to mention how well edited and directed these moments are by Kornél Mundrucźo.
With this in mind, what can't not be mentioned are the moments when this occurs en masse. The film's final scenes are very similar to those from "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", except without the CGI. Watching hundreds of dogs charge down an urban road alongside Lili on her bike reminded me what cinema had been made for. Mundrucźo can't be criticised in regards to these, but what he can be criticised over is how he fits them into "White God" as a whole.
Considering this, as well as how "White God" is ultimately too long, lacks a clear message, and manages to make every human who appears on screen instantly forgettable, the film is generally quite poorly executed. But what shouldn't be criticised is how, considering that anything else close to similar to "White God" is plagued with CGI, Mundrucźo managed to make me come out of Cornerhouse feeling refreshed. Would I recommend "White God" to the average cinema-goer? No. But I would recommend it to anyone who wants to have their faith in cinema restored.
At this stage in the film, "White God" shines when Hagen is on screen. With an origins story comparable to that of Caesar's in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", once Hagen is dumped on the streets he is found and trained up to be a fighting dog. From here the familiar canine domestic nature we are all used is beaten out of him. Yet it's in moments like when Hagen wins his first fight, almost killing the other dog in front of him that we can tell that Hagen doesn't like what he's done nor what he's been forced into. For a dog to convey this sounds ridiculous and considering that, it's impossible not to mention how well edited and directed these moments are by Kornél Mundrucźo.
With this in mind, what can't not be mentioned are the moments when this occurs en masse. The film's final scenes are very similar to those from "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", except without the CGI. Watching hundreds of dogs charge down an urban road alongside Lili on her bike reminded me what cinema had been made for. Mundrucźo can't be criticised in regards to these, but what he can be criticised over is how he fits them into "White God" as a whole.
Considering this, as well as how "White God" is ultimately too long, lacks a clear message, and manages to make every human who appears on screen instantly forgettable, the film is generally quite poorly executed. But what shouldn't be criticised is how, considering that anything else close to similar to "White God" is plagued with CGI, Mundrucźo managed to make me come out of Cornerhouse feeling refreshed. Would I recommend "White God" to the average cinema-goer? No. But I would recommend it to anyone who wants to have their faith in cinema restored.
Plot Summary
This is film about a little girl and her dog. But when you think this means a teenage feel good movie, think again. In fact, the girl is a rebellious brat, who disobeys her father, insults her music teacher and at one point gets arrested for drugs possession. And at the end of the film the dog is no longer a cute animal, but a killing monster. It's clear this is not a film for the faint-hearted. There's blood, there's killing, there's cruelty, there's violence.
And that is exactly the good thing about 'White God'. It's a film about dogs, and it takes its subject seriously. The dogs are not at all friendly cuddly creatures with human qualities, but turn into fierce monsters who take over an entire city.
The animal trainers have done a great job in this film. It's incredible how well the dogs play their part, and do exactly what is necessary for the story. There's one small but wonderful scene with the lead dog character walking over a bridge. Every time he hears an unexpected noise, for example a river ship blowing its horn, he is startled. When he is reassured, and convinced that there is no danger, he walks on. Great scene, great directing.
The most spectacular scene, though, is one that features twice in the film. It is the opening scene, and the rest of the film is shown as a flash-back, leading up to that same scene. It shows a completely deserted city, with only the little girl riding her bicycle and a pack of aggressive dogs roaming the streets. It's impressive film making. That is also the case, by the way, for the very last scene, which has an almost poetic beauty and is featured on the film poster.
I liked 'White God', because it is something out of the ordinary. Serious films about animals are quite rare. Mostly, like 'Free Willy' or 'Beethoven', they are family-oriented feel good movies. 'White God' definitely isn't a feel good movie. And it's not family-oriented either. Moveover, it is well-made, with solid acting, original camera angles and nice cinematography.
I also liked the fact that it is a Hungarian film. I can't remember ever before having seen a film from a Hungarian film maker. It's nice to hear a different language (one that's completely incomprehensible, and has no links with any other language apart from Finnish) and to see the Budapest locations.
The only thing I don't get is the title. White God? The film is not about anything white, let alone God. Maybe it's something that only Hungarians can understand.After seeing the first trailer, I thought this looks interesting, this might look like a "Planet of the apes" adaptation, only with dogs. Then it won quite surprisingly in Cannes, so this really deserves a watch. Especially since these kind of movies are quite rare in Hungary.
And that is exactly the good thing about 'White God'. It's a film about dogs, and it takes its subject seriously. The dogs are not at all friendly cuddly creatures with human qualities, but turn into fierce monsters who take over an entire city.
The animal trainers have done a great job in this film. It's incredible how well the dogs play their part, and do exactly what is necessary for the story. There's one small but wonderful scene with the lead dog character walking over a bridge. Every time he hears an unexpected noise, for example a river ship blowing its horn, he is startled. When he is reassured, and convinced that there is no danger, he walks on. Great scene, great directing.
The most spectacular scene, though, is one that features twice in the film. It is the opening scene, and the rest of the film is shown as a flash-back, leading up to that same scene. It shows a completely deserted city, with only the little girl riding her bicycle and a pack of aggressive dogs roaming the streets. It's impressive film making. That is also the case, by the way, for the very last scene, which has an almost poetic beauty and is featured on the film poster.
I liked 'White God', because it is something out of the ordinary. Serious films about animals are quite rare. Mostly, like 'Free Willy' or 'Beethoven', they are family-oriented feel good movies. 'White God' definitely isn't a feel good movie. And it's not family-oriented either. Moveover, it is well-made, with solid acting, original camera angles and nice cinematography.
I also liked the fact that it is a Hungarian film. I can't remember ever before having seen a film from a Hungarian film maker. It's nice to hear a different language (one that's completely incomprehensible, and has no links with any other language apart from Finnish) and to see the Budapest locations.
The only thing I don't get is the title. White God? The film is not about anything white, let alone God. Maybe it's something that only Hungarians can understand.After seeing the first trailer, I thought this looks interesting, this might look like a "Planet of the apes" adaptation, only with dogs. Then it won quite surprisingly in Cannes, so this really deserves a watch. Especially since these kind of movies are quite rare in Hungary.
Well, to start with the good things: The main dog (Max) is awesome. Same goes to almost every scene related to the dogs, the pet trainers did a brilliant job. Considering real shelter dogs were used here too, the animal team deserves high applause.
Also from production/directing perspective this movie is really a good step into the right direction. You didn't see a hungarian movie all the time, it's high class, even for western standards.
The list with the bad things will be unfortunately much longer: -The acting is really bad.The main character girl Lili was already annoying enough with her behavior, but with the bad acting performance it was just overall terrible. Same goes to the afghan character played by the director itself. Holy moly, Kornél, where did you get that horrible fake Russian accent? -The story itself didn't make any sense and I couldn't take it serious. It was not explained why literally EVERYONE in the goddamn city (apart from Lili of course) hates dogs now. If you want to build a whole movie about this, better have some explanation. Even a cheesy one (like some infection) or whatever. This is a no go. -100 dogs and a city falls. No really, they set it up like 28 days later. Only there it was a global virus. Here it was like 100 dogs! Of all kind! Not even 100 pitbulls, it was mixed with tiny to big, and none of them really looked terrifying, that would explain why people left their cars in panic on the middle of the bridge. Give me a break. -There is a never ending party scene, which I guess only had one purpose, to promote some song. Also for people with epileptic problems, this will be a hard challenge. -The ending twist was could be predicted after 5 minutes. I'm not joking, you'll see it yourself.
The comparing with "Planet of the Apes" has it's reasons, since both movies have their leader who is doing a revolution, and with one human friend connection. Only 100 strong apes would be a more reasonably threat, than 100 dogs, so it's sadly a bit laughable considering how serious this movie took itself. I find it hard to believe, that police would have big problems catching 100 dogs which are together all the time. They were even in a tunnel,so just block both ends with nets or a fence.
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