Old Dog

The writer and director Pema Tseden is regarded as the inventor of Tibetan cinema. His third feature is both a humorous and tragic allegory in which he manages to record in a pure and naturalistic way the extensive cultural changes in the Buddhist mountain state, with non-professional actors and grainy shots of the majestic Himalayas.
The story is told from the perspective of a Tibetan mastiff. This race of dogs is very popular among rich Chinese. That’s why so many get stolen in a village that is hemmed in between the mountaintops. In order to beat the thieves to it, Gonpo decides to sell his mastiff. His father is not happy about this and decides to buy the animal back. This leads to a bizarre series of events that ends in a sad apotheosis. The mastiff keeps changing owner, time and again, and the father-son relationship is put to the test. But Tseden uses the story to show how Tibetans are becoming increasingly assimilated into the dominant Han culture.