White God (2014)

Thirteen-year-old Lili fights to protect her dog Hagen. She is devastated when her father eventually sets Hagen free on the streets. Still innocently believing love can conquer any difficulty, Lili sets out to find her dog and save him.

Director:

Kornél Mundruczó

Writers:

Kornél Mundruczó (screenplay), Viktória Petrányi (screenplay)

Stars:

Zsófia Psotta, Sándor Zsótér, Lili Horváth

8 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Zsófia Psotta	...	Lili
Sándor Zsótér	...	Dániel
Lili Horváth	...	Elza
Szabolcs Thuróczy	...	Old man
Lili Monori	...	Bev
Gergely Bánki	...	Dog-catcher
Tamás Polgár	...	Dog-catcher
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Károly Ascher	...	Péter
Erika Bodnár	...	Neighbour
Body	...	Hagen
Bence Csepeli	...	Diamond
János Derzsi	...	Homeless
Ruby Ben Eli	...	Dog Fight Manager
Csaba Faix	...	TV Presenter
Edit Frajt	...	Policewoman

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

animal cruelty | father daughter estrangement | father daughter conflict | euthanasia of dog | killing an animal | 

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Taglines:

The unwanted will have their day.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violent content including bloody images, and language

Details

Official Sites:

Filmpartners [Hungary] Magnet Releasing [United States]

Country:

Hungary Germany Sweden

Language:

Hungarian English

Release Date:

12 June 2014 (Hungary)

Also Known As:

White God

Filming Locations:

Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

HUF 700,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

HUF 7,396,629 (Hungary), 15 June 2014

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,139, 29 March 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$280,494, 21 June 2015

Company Credits

Production Co:

Proton Cinema, Pola Pandora Filmproduktions, Filmpartners

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

All dogs that were used in the film (other than the two trained actor dogs that played Hagen) had been from local shelters and went through training for the film. 280 canines were used (according to the producer). By the end of the film, because the dogs were all over the streets with individual trainers all the time during filming, they all found homes.

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Quotes

Dániel: It's difficult to lose someone you love. But things do not turn always as you want.

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Crazy Credits

[Opening tittle card] "Everything terrible is something that needs our love." -Rainer Maria Rilke

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Connections

Referenced in Fake or Fortune?: Lowry (2015)

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Soundtracks

Escape
by Asher Goldschmidt

User Reviews

A novel mix of a G-rated children's movie and a R-18+ rated horror film...

A novel blend of the old Lassie movies with Hitchcock's The Birds. I was a bit stumped thinking about the intended demographic. Thematically it was a children's movie, but it should also be rated at least R-38+ for animal abuse and gory violence. This leaves us with an imaginary demographic, mathematically speaking. Still I enjoyed parts of the movie, as some sequences are visually amazing, while the dogs are expressive and well-trained.

Agree with the wise reviewer that once said, "It is also a parable about how one species dominates another in the belief it is the superior." Having said that, it's also a tale of huge bastards of the non-canine variant. Not to mention a story of extraordinary vile scumbaggery by a hominem species. In fact, not a single one of the adults seems sympathetic, which makes the movie sort of unique - if not necessarily in a good way.

As a bonus. It was interesting to learn that 100% of all Hungarians are either a**ho***, sociopaths, or both, with the exception of preadolescent girls. (Then again, it is true that much of the Hungarian society in recent years has suffered from virulent strain of xenophobia directed at transitory refugees. Not that it's the only country at that.)