State of Dogs (, alternately Nokhoin Oron) is a Mongolian movie that was released in 1998, directed and written by Peter Brosens and Dorjkhandyn Turmunkh. The film was shown at the 1998 Venice Film Festival, the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival, the 1999 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, and won the Grand Prix at the 1998 Visions du Réel film festival in Nyon, Switzerland.

Synopsis

Set in Mongolia's capital city, Ulan Bator, the film combines documentary elements with fictional elements in the fragmented, impressionistic and dreamlike story of Baasar, a dog who dies early in the movie — shot by a hunter employed by the city to reduce its dog population, which has more than one dog for each four humans in its population of 800,000. According to Mongolian legend, a dog (who is prepared) may be reincarnated in its next life as a human, after roaming free for as long as he wants. Baasar roams the memory of his life, uninterested in advancing to a human life. The film includes brief interludes with a solar eclipse, a segment in which a young man recites poems directly to the camera, and a depiction of modern Mongolian life with undercurrents of mysticism and myth.

Cultural influence

Garth Stein, American author and film producer, was inspired by State of Dogs to write his best selling novel The Art of Racing in the Rain.

Awards