Man and his best friend are having some serious relationship issues in "White God." Hungarian director Kornel Mundruczo's tale of a teenage girl and her beloved hound is the stuff of canine nightmares, set in a present-day Budapest that feels more like a dog dystopia.
When 13-year-old Lili (Zsofia Psotta) moves in with her estranged father (Sandor Zsoter) for a few months, he isn't so keen on her bringing along her pet dog, Hagen. Neither are the authorities, for that matter: The government has introduced a law requiring all mongrels to be registered and the apartment landlady doesn't waste any time tipping them off about the new arrival.
"It's not a Hungarian breed," says the local dogcatcher, after giving Hagen the once-over. "You have to pay a tax."