''Cala, My Dog!'' is a 2003 Chinese comedy film directed by
Lu Xuechang
Lu Xuechang (June 25, 1964 – February 20, 2014) was a sixth generation Chinese film director. One of a new crop of talented filmmakers, Lu directed four feature films beginning with his debut, ''The Making of Steel
''The'' () is a gramm ...
. The film had its world premiere at the 2003
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...
and its Chinese release a week earlier on February 2, 2003. The film follows a
blue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...
(
Ge You
Ge You (born April 19, 1957) is a Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, often with a bald shaven pate, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in China.
He became the first Asian actor to win the Cannes ...
) in Beijing as he attempts to acquire a dog license in 18 hours for his beloved unlicensed Cala. The film was co-produced by the successful film director
Feng Xiaogang
Feng Xiaogang (; born 18 March 1958 in Beijing) is a Chinese film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and politician. He is well known in China as a highly successful commercial filmmaker whose comedy films do consistently well at the box of ...
.
Though a comedy, ''Cala, My Dog!'' moves at a subdued pace. Despite this, during its world premiere in Berlin, sales agents from
Celestial Pictures
Celestial Pictures is a diversified entertainment company focusing on Asian-language film and television content including production, aggregation, distribution and the operation of TV channels.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, the company owns th ...
billed the film as a more zany, traditional comedy.
Plot
Lao Er (
Ge You
Ge You (born April 19, 1957) is a Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, often with a bald shaven pate, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in China.
He became the first Asian actor to win the Cannes ...
) lives a humdrum life as a laborer in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
with his wife Yu Lan (
Ding Jiali
Ding Jiali (; born 16 December 1959) is a Chinese actress.
Her career accolades include two Plum Blossom Prizes and Golden Rooster Awards, a Hundred Flowers Award, Flying Apsaras Award, Huabiao Award, Golden Phoenix Award, Chinese Film Medi ...
), his son Liangliang (
Li Bin) and his beloved dog, Cala. Lao Er's life is thrown into turmoil when the government in an effort to control rabies, decrees that all unlicensed dogs are to be cast out of the city. When Cala is confiscated during an evening walk, the police give Lao Er eighteen hours until 4:00 in the afternoon of the next day to obtain a license for 5000 RMB ($600), an exorbitant amount of money for a worker in Lao Er's position.
Lao Er, determined to get his dog back, sends his son to coerce an uncle working in the pound to get the dog back. When that fails, he goes to his neighbor (Li Qinqin) in order to use her dog's license to trick the pound. When that too fails, Lao Er becomes desperate, all while dealing with a wife who becomes increasingly jealous over his visits to his neighbor, and a son who is arrested after getting into a fight...
Cast
*
Ge You
Ge You (born April 19, 1957) is a Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, often with a bald shaven pate, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in China.
He became the first Asian actor to win the Cannes ...
as Lao Er, the film's protagonist, Lao Er, a poor worker in Beijing, is seeking to get his dog Cala back after it is taken away for being unlicensed.
*
Ding Jiali
Ding Jiali (; born 16 December 1959) is a Chinese actress.
Her career accolades include two Plum Blossom Prizes and Golden Rooster Awards, a Hundred Flowers Award, Flying Apsaras Award, Huabiao Award, Golden Phoenix Award, Chinese Film Medi ...
as Yu Lan, Lao Er's wife.
*
Li Bin as Liangliang, Lao Er's son.
*
Li Qinqin as Yang Li, Lao Er's neighbor and friend; her dog is the mother of Cala.
*
Xia Yu Xia Yu may refer to:
*Yu the Great, also known as Xia Yu, legendary founder of the Xia dynasty
* Xia Yu (actor) (born 1978), Chinese actor
*Ha Yu (actor)
Wong Sing (born 14 June 1943), better known by his stage name Ha Yu, is a Hong Kong actor ...
as the police officer.
*
Zhang Dali as Yang Li's ex-husband.
See also
*''
The Story of Qiu Ju
''The Story of Qiu Ju'' () is a 1992 Chinese comedy-drama film. The film was directed by Zhang Yimou and, as in many of his films, stars Gong Li in the title role. The screenplay is an adaption of Chen Yuanbin's (陈源斌) novella ''The Wan Famil ...
'' —
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...
's 1992 satire presents another view on Chinese bureaucracy, admittedly one from an earlier decade.
References
External links
*
*
*{{rotten-tomatoes, id=cala_my_dog , title=Cala, My Dog!
''Cala, My Dog!''from the Chinese Movie Database
2003 films
2000s Mandarin-language films
2003 comedy films
Films set in Beijing
Films directed by Lu Xuechang
Chinese comedy films