Will I be able to watch this? I have a really hard time watching animal cruelty. Like, I couldn't watch The Grey, and I know the wolves were really just symbols of nature.
I would love to see dogs rise up against their abusers, but it would upset me to see them slaughtered.
Maybe the book would be better? Is it any good?
Thanks for any info anyone can give me:)
They're coming to get you, Barbara!
If you are a dog lover, and have trouble watching animal abuse, I would not recommend this film. It can be really tough to watch at times, and there is a lot of abusing animals on screen. No animals were actually harmed, but it looks pretty real on screen. It may be pretty upsetting to watch for you.
shareThank you for your response and warning of the film. I feel the same way too and cannot watch animal abuse even if it's fake. I won't be seeing this film in that case.
share^exactly
shareI see almost all the Indie films at our three area cinemas.
I went to White God having not seen the trailer.
I had to leave less than one hour in. I tried to force myself to stay but the animal brutality portrayed made me ill.
I wish I could have seen it through because I love movies, but the scenes following Hagen's sale were too much for me.
I'm with you, I would love to watch this, see some payback it seems like a highly satisfying concept to dog lovers like us, but I also cannot stand to watch even faked animal cruelty.
It interesting that you mention the book, I think that reading about it would not be the same at all, it's purely intellectual and has no visceral element.
I grew up in Hungary, my family's owned dogs since I was a kid, I'm very sensitive towards any type of animal abuse, so it was very hard for me in the first half right up until the dog fight scene, but if you can bear through it, it's an absolutely amazing film, one of the best of 2014. Very emotional, very well put together, but it's very hard to watch. I'd be interested if you watched it since you posted this and what you thought of it if you did.
"Ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
Thank you for going into detail. I think knowing all the dogs in the cast found homes in real life will help me power through. Plus, I want to support any filmmaker that treats animal actors humanely and draws attention to abuse. I will wear my glasses, however, because I will probably cry until my contacts fall out (holding my own dogs in a death grip and sobbing into their fur).
shareIt is a difficult watch at times but take solace in the fact that all the dogs (over 250) were once homeless and now have homes thanks to the filmmakers, so you know they were treated well.
shareNever heard of WHITE GOD, but I'm listening to an interview with one of the main dog trainers for this film on NPR---Teresa Miller--she and her father,also a dog trainer---trained dogs for the BABE and BEETHOVEN movies--(her dad trained the St. Bernards for the horror film CUJO, and also the dogs for THEY ONLY KILL THEIR MASTERS,WHITE DOG, and CUJO) and it's pretty fascinating to hear how she trained the two American dogs who were cast as the stars of the film (both playing the same role)and how the film was made with its entire dog cast in general. This of course has gotten me interested in seeing the film. It's just now coming out on DVD here in the U.S. (it never got a U.S. release.) Wouldn't mind seeing this----anybody know why it never got a U.S. release?
shareThey don't release to all regions at once, unfortunately. I'm still waiting for an English subtitled release of Livide (french horror film), and it's 4 years old!
shareIf it sheds light on animal cruelty, particularly the loathsome practice of dog fighting, then it is a worthwhile film.
shareI had to hold my dog tight to me during the film, but it was more due to the situations encountered (abandonment, surviving, etc.) rather than abuse/brutality, which is typically occurring off camera. Everybody's different, of course, but my wife (who's a bigger dog lover than me) and I were really glad we saw it.
share@activista, If you still want to see White God, it's available on Netflix.
I understand. Thank you for telling me. -The masked bandit
Listen to this Fresh Air interview with the dog trainer: http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2015/07/29/427419620/fresh-air-for-july-29-2015.
You'll be able to enjoy the movie knowing how much work was put into it to teach the dogs to be such good actors. The dog fight scene was really them just playing and two actors in Belgium created the vicious growls.