Old Dog

An odd, quiet Tibetan feature film that shows a grittier side of Tibet than most Western filmgoers are familiar with, Old Dog is an intermittently compelling slice-of-life portrait of a man named Gonpo (Drolma Kyab). The setting is a poor ramshackle Tibetan farming town, where valuable mastiffs are being stolen from farms on a regular basis and sold on the black market, since they are in great demand as herd dogs in the countryside. Gonpo, an alcoholic without much ambition or drive, decides to sell the dog belonging to his father-in-law, Akhu (mono-named actor Lochey), for a hefty price before thieves can steal it. Not surprisingly, Akhu isn't happy and the dog is retrieved. From here, the scruffy canine and ragtag Gonpo just seem to sink deeper and deeper into ill-fortune before the film culminates in an unexpected ending. Minimalist director Pema Tseden definitely knows how to get the most out of his shots, displaying an impressively keen eye while imbuing the visually mundane with meaning. Recommended. (M. Sandlin)