''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 Cinema of China, Chinese film director. One of a new crop of talented filmmakers, Lu directed four feature films beginning with his debut, ''The Making of Steel'' in 1997.
...
. The film had its world premiere at the 2003
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
and its Chinese release a week earlier on February 2, 2003. The film follows a
blue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labour, manual labor or Tradesman, skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, Warehouse, warehousing, mining, ...
(
Ge You
Ge You (born April 19, 1957) is a Chinese actor. One of the most critically acclaimed performers in China, Ge is known for his signature bald head, comic timing, and intelligent, subtle acting. Ge became the first Asian actor to win the Best A ...
) 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 ( zh, s=冯小刚, t=馮小剛, p=Féng Xiǎogāng; born 18 March 1958 in Beijing) is a Chinese filmmaker and actor. Rising to fame for directing comedies, Feng played a pivotal role in shaping the Chinese New Year films, with f ...
.
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 an entertainment-based company focused on Asian-language film and content, encompassing production's, aggregation, distribution, and TV channels. It is headquartered in Hong Kong, and owned by Astro Overseas Limited.
Ce ...
billed the film as a more zany, traditional comedy.
Plot
Lao Er (
Ge You
Ge You (born April 19, 1957) is a Chinese actor. One of the most critically acclaimed performers in China, Ge is known for his signature bald head, comic timing, and intelligent, subtle acting. Ge became the first Asian actor to win the Best A ...
) lives a humdrum life as a laborer in
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
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 Me ...
), 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
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Ge You
Ge You (born April 19, 1957) is a Chinese actor. One of the most critically acclaimed performers in China, Ge is known for his signature bald head, comic timing, and intelligent, subtle acting. Ge became the first Asian actor to win the Best A ...
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 Me ...
as Yu Lan, Lao Er's wife.
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Li Bin as Liangliang, Lao Er's son.
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Li Qinqin as Yang Li, Lao Er's neighbor and friend; her dog is the mother of Cala.
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Xia Yu as the police officer.
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Zhang Dali as Yang Li's ex-husband.
See also
*''
The Story of Qiu Ju
''The Story of Qiu Ju'' (, "Qiu Ju goes to court") 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� ...
'' —
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou (; born 14 November 1950) is a Chinese filmmaker.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retrieved 21 August 2008. A leading figure of China's Cinem ...
's 1992 satire presents another view on Chinese bureaucracy, admittedly one from an earlier decade.
References
External links
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*{{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