藏獒多吉 [Tibetan Dog] (2011)

On Q's birthday, I was on leave. I filed this beforehand with the thought that we might be spending time together but then things ended in July, a week after our last meetup. Instead of cancelling my leave, I used the time to read on stuff and to watch a movie and 藏獒多吉 happened to catch my attention. I love big dogs and I think they are so much more huggable than toy dogs. If ever I would love to have a big furry one like chow-chow, Alaskan malamute, Siberian husky, and now a Tibetan mastiff. Super cute! Except I will need to sacrifice because these huge dogs carry with them huge appetites as well. 

The movie opens with a boy whose mother just died and so he is fetched to join his father in Tibet where he finds himself unaccustomed to the pastoral life. He takes on the duty of herding sheep and one day encounters danger when bears appeared but a golden Tibetan Mastiff saves him. The golden dog is challenged by another mastiff and they dueled until they fell off the cliff, but were both nursed back to health. The boy grows close to the golden dog.

Somewhere, another group of men encounters a wild monster, probably a yeti. The leader's brother is killed and the last thing the group sees is Toji the golden Tibetan Mastiff. They assumed that he is the one who did the killings. In parallel, the boy's father has also been investigating the unusual killings going on. Toji is held captive until proven innocent and fearful that the dog will be executed, the boy and his friend released him to escape. Eventually the yeti appears and kills off the other group's leader. The yeti and Toji engage in a fight and even Toji's friend, the challenger mastiff helped in the fight. When the boy's life was in danger, Toji rushed to him and saved him, himself falling in the process resulting in his death. Later on it is learned that Toji has left behind a cute golden puppy which now accompanies the boy wherever he goes.

This is a must-watch for children or even adults who love dogs. Not only does it show the friendship between humans and animals, it also shows how intelligent dogs can be. I shared this movie to Q after wishing him a happy birthday. He just said he'll watch but I doubt it, and I don't want to care. I stopped believing in a person whose integrity and sincerity is questionable in order to appear civil and polite. I believe that people can be polite while still being true and authentic. But then in many many ways, animals are way better than humans. It's true what they say about how caring for animals is more worth it than caring for humans who will one day just hurt you.