Tuya's Marriage (2006)
"Tuya de hun shi" (original title)

Set in Inner Mongolia, a physical setback causes a young woman to choose a suitor who can take care of her, as well as her disabled husband.

Director:

Quan'an Wang

Writers:

Wei Lu, Quan'an Wang

Stars:

Nan Yu, Ba'toer, Sen'ge

4 wins.

Cast

Cast overview:
Nan Yu	...	Tuya
Ba'toer	...	Ba'toer - the husband
Sen'ge	...	Sen'ge - the neighbor
Bao'lier	...	Bao'lier - the old friend
Bao'erku	...	Bao'erku - the suitor
Zhaya	...	Zhaya - the son
Ting Ting Ren	...	Bao'rao - the daughter

Storyline

Tuya is the persevering wife of Bater, a herdsman who lost his legs exploring water in the Neimenggu (Inner Mongolia) grassland that is fast vanishing as a result of desertification. She takes up the sole responsibility to make a living for the family, but develops a dislocated lumbar from her hard labor and risks paralysis herself. Faced with harsh reality, the couple decide to divorce so that Tuya can seek a better life. Imposing her own conditions of a remarriage - her new husband must take care of Bater, their children and their poor herding land, the strong-minded, stubborn, but also gentle, susceptible Tuya embarks on an arduous search for a new husband, and meets suiters who are rich but disingenuous, likable but shy, and saves a suicidal Bater who still longs for Tuya and their children along the way.

---

Plot Keywords:

mongolia | husband wife relationship | peasant | misery | family relationships | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Details

Country:

China

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

8 June 2007 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Il matrimonio di Tuya

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$2,619 (USA) (4 April 2008)

Gross:

$87,329 (USA) (31 October 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Maxyee Culture Industry, Xian Motion Picture Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Great movie, but why not in Mongolian?

I just finished watching Tuya's marriage at the Berlin Film Festival and would rate it 8/10. The movie deals with a herder woman in Inner Mongolia who decides to divorce because her husband is sick and unable to care for her and the family. Since she still loves him, any prospective new husband must promise to care for her and the kids as well as for her old husband.

The plot may sound a bit constructed, but it actually works remarkably well. The pictures are great, and after D. Byambasuren's rather static movies this is finally a drama set in the steppes. The most important thing is probably that the movie takes its subjects seriously. Maybe a bit too seriously at times, but not that seriously that it disturbs the movie.

So, why not giving it 10/10? I missed the Mongolian language. Of course language isn't everything (see Mongolian Pingpong or Apocalypto), but when even the drinking habits are dealt with in greatest detail, why didn't they bother to find a cast that can speak Mongolian? I asked the director about why they used Chinese (that's what you go on film festivals for), but his answer was not really convincing. I suppose some opportunistic reason, like the main actress can't speak Mongolian. Anyway, this only means that you can as well enjoy this movie in a dubbed version.

In short: Definitely recommended.