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.)

Having worked closely with dogs I was fascinated with the premise of this film and the training behind it. The canine acting is beyond belief and the story really only takes flight when the dogs own the screen. The sight of 200 dogs running in a group makes your hair stand on end. The most fully realized sequence is of the dog fight training, and one is alternately repulsed and fascinated by this brutal subculture. Standout performance by Zsófia Psotta as the young girl who believes in her beloved mixed breed Hagen above all reason. A desolate, dispirited world is fully realized in this film about love and cruelty. Magnificent is the only word that can describe the control the trainers have over the dogs behind the scenes, but you don't even think about that while watching the story unfold.

Sort of a modern spin on "The Birds", Kornél Mundruczó's "Fehér isten" ("White God" in English) brings up the issue of cruelty to animals. One might say that the dogs are more human than most of the human characters: these canines have pronounced ways of communicating with each other and picking up on danger, while most of the humans do horrendous things to them.

The song that the band plays is Franz Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody #2", which you may have heard in numerous Looney Tunes cartoons, and also in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (Daffy and Donald play it on the pianos and screw with each other's performances). Here it seems to represent the characters' attempt to celebrate everything that they consider Hungarian, even as their countrymen do the most heartless things to animals.

So, this is a fine piece of work from the Magyar Republic. I recommend it.