White God

And Runaway Animals In Prison

In case it wasn’t clear from the “Isle Of Dogs” review, I am a dog person. Not heavily – I don’t know breeds too well, and I haven’t had a dog for a pet in decades. But I do feel, in some abstract way, that they are friends. In public, dogs are THRILLED to see me. They come up to me, and we both jump and down as if we’re exclaiming, “Brothers!” I used to date a girl who loved dogs, but when we were out in public she was so upset, genuinely seething, about the fact that dogs liked me more that she pretty much held a grudge, up until she cheated on me. Probably. We never really discussed it. I don’t know. Part of why I went to prison is that I have had bad relationships.Or maybe not enough dogs.

“White God”, a Hungarian epic, begins with the unforgettable slow motion visual of an army of dogs charging through a city street after their prey. It’s a commanding way of starting a movie, and the dogs are depicted as graceful, but with teeth bared, capable of great violence. As such, it’s a bit upsetting. But I still gazed upon the crowd of canines and almost screamed out loud, “FRANDS!” So, you know, this is a movie about the people who root for the dogs. There’s probably a lot of you out there.

The narrative then flashes back to the lead dog, a yellow-haired mix breed who is gifted to a young girl in Hungary. The girl, Lili, is immediately a friend to furry Hagen, and there is the typical warmth between dog and human. But it’s worth explaining right off the bat that this is not a kid-friendly movie. Little Lili bonds to Hagen, in spite of having to move from her mother to living with her gruff wayward father. Dad doesn’t want to ruin his daughter’s life, but he also doesn’t want to pay for the little guy, particularly considering there’s a local tax for owning a mixed-breed dog. There may be a metaphor in this.

Eventually, Lili and Hagen are separated, and Hagen goes on a very R-rated adventure. I’m not entirely sure how they made this film safely, to be honest. The dog, or dogs, playing Hagen give an incredible dog performance. For a while, I wondered if that was Daniel Day-Lewis underneath all that fur. We follow Hagen into the heart of the city, where he is forced into a dogfighting ring. While this movie is suited for the dog fans, it’s not for the squeamish ones. I promise, it will be rewarding.

Hagen goes on an odyssey, contrasted with Lili’s difficult upbringing. Now with her oblivious father, Lili experiences a lot of growing up in a hurry after losing her dog, dealing with alienation, loss and heartbreak. Meanwhile, Hagen is simply trying to evade those that have tortured him – he is no killer, but it becomes clear that he can take care of himself if pushed. Both stories are ostensibly tragedies, until you realize these two will need each other. At this point, nothing implausible occurs, but the stage is set for that opening scene. The dogs will overrun this city. You may find their methods far-fetched. But within that doubt is the idea that you don’t want to see a bunch of dogs take over a city. And if you’re that person, I don’t want to know you, and your mother is probably not a pretty person. I’m sorry this is the way you had to find out. Dogs, dude.

“White God” is bleak at points, so, obviously, trigger warning for those who cannot take the idea of animal cruelty. This is, unfortunately, something of an anti-human movie. It’s Hagen who gets to see how terrible people can be, not only exploiting him, but in harming the other humans they pretend to love. I have implied this is not for those with softer temperaments. But if you do watch, by the halfway point you will entirely be on the dogs’ side, but also intensely against humans. Maybe you’ll join PETA or something. I know there’s a long cinematic legacy of dog movies. But damned if this isn’t the best Dog Movie ever made.

My first federal prison had a wide-open yard and was relatively close to society – not so for the second one, which seemed purposely isolated from the rest of the world, as if we were housed inside the Negative Zone. That first prison, however, allowed for the occasional incursion of animals. No dogs ever came onto the compound, but there were a number of cats, which is a regular feature in many prisons. Collectively, we loved those cats. One, a meek striped cat, was always visiting my building, always arching its head upwards for a pat on the head. The poor cat had suffered plenty, and had a severe limp. While this could have been age, the rumor was that a couple of inmates had kicked this little creature. We fed the cat regularly with food we would sneak out of the cafeteria, mostly bread (there ALWAYS bread in a prison meal).

The cats would crawl under the fence, but sometimes you could tell they had dug a hole under the side of a building. You never could tell from where they were actually coming, or where they were headed. But this was strictly in nicer weather. One particularly brutal winter for us ended at the beginning of 2017. That striped cat never returned. He may not have survived the winter. We can’t say. That was a tough loss for me. Something you miss when you are in prison are animals, the types of little creatures, insects, four-legged critters, dogs. As such, the days when I was finally freed and could walk the street, it took everything in my power whenever I saw a dog to not jump up and down and scream, “FRAND!”