White God PREMIUM

Aug 12 2015

White God (originally titled "Fehér isten") chronicles the heart-wrenching separation of a mixed breed dog (Hagen) and the girl who loves him (Lili). It is a Hungarian-language film (with English subtitles), and in character with Eastern European cinema, is visually very graphic. Due to her mother’s work circumstances, Lili, an innocent-looking, young teenager, is sent to temporarily stay with her father, a solitary bachelor. Upon arriving at his apartment, a neighbor voices her disdain for Lili’s large mutt, Hagen. Citing housing regulations, the neighbor demands Hagen be banished from the apartment building. Rather than risk losing Hagen, Lili decides to take him to music class with her, and to hide him in a closet. Following the inevitable shenanigans, Lili’s father dumps Hagen on the side of a busy highway. Hagen’s life on the road is harsh and cruel. He is terrorized by all kinds of vicious and sadistic humans. Meanwhile, Lili is searching for him as much as possible while also living the cliche life of a young girl from a broken home (skipping school, partying, carrying drugs for a cute, older boy, etc). Her behavior lands Lili in the hands of the authorities, and after retrieving her from police custody, her father rescinds his militant parenting style, and they reconcile. Around this time in Hagen’s storyline, he breaches security at the local dog shelter, and whips a herd of other shelter dogs into a frenzy. They go around exacting bloody, murderous revenge on Hagen’s abusers. The entire town is thrown into chaos as Lili realizes Hagen is behind it all. This film is disturbing in many ways, but what makes White God such an accomplished work is how the story shines through. Regardless of whether it makes you laugh, cry, get very angry, or possibly even throw up, it ultimately effectuates an emotional journey that cannot be denied.