White God (Fehér isten) (2014)

Drama

Director: Kornél Mundruczó
Writers: Kornél Mundruczó, Viktória Petrányi, Kata Wéber
Starring: Zsófia Psotta, Sándor Zsótér, Lili Horváth, Szabolcs Thuróczy

"The unwanted will have their day."

On the empty streets of Budapest, thirteen-year-old Lili is face-to-face with a 250-strong pack of dogs who rose up against their human oppressors.

After being sent by her divorced mom to live with her emotionally cold father, Lili is forced to abandon her constant companion canine Hagen — a Shar-Pei/Lab mix — on the side of the road, and the dog suddenly finds himself on his own, in a world that proves to be not very nice. He hooks up with a pack of outcast strays, then caught by a one-eyed vagrant who sells him to a dogfighting racketeer who puts him to work. He ends up in a kennel, all culminating in an amazing scene with more than 200 dogs charging through the streets of the Budapest, bringing the city to a standstill.

Winner of the Un Certain Regard at Cannes and the Palm Dog Award (yes, they've been giving that since 2001), Kornél Mundruczó's Fehér Isten offers a dark take on the way humans exert authority and superiority over our fellow creatures, and it isn't an easy film watch, but its soaring ambition and powerful acting — human and canine alike — make it well worth the effort.

Plot summary from IMDb: A cautionary tale between a superior species and its disgraced inferior - Favoring pedigree dogs, a new regulation puts a severe tax on mixed breeds. Owners dump their dogs and shelters become overcrowded. 13-year-old Lili fights desperately to protect her pet Hagen, but her father eventually sets the dog free on the streets.

Awards: 3 wins & 7 nominations.
Runtime: 121 min
R