Tuya de hun shi (2006)

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

6 wins & 1 nomination.

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 | rural setting | family relationships | wife longs for husband | misery | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

China

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

8 June 2007 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Il matrimonio di Tuya

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,619, 6 April 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$87,329, 2 November 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

Almost a documentary

This movie is more meaningful when viewed as a semi-documentary. Through the micro angle of a slightly dramatized story of Tuya, we are introduced to the macro reality of the harsh livelihood of the backward areas of Mongolia and, although not specifically addressed, of many parts of China.

Tuya's predicaments are by no means unique, or even unusual, for there are many areas in the mainland where natural resources that we in modern cities take for granted are luxuries. With her husband paralyzed as a result of attempts to drill wells for water, Tuya, relatively young, reasonably good looking and unquestionably able-bodied, takes up the burden of rearing a herd if lambs and caring for her husband and two children. The son, just about turning teen, is a help but the daughter is small. When the burden comes close to being unbearable, the couple resorts to what a lot of people in similarly locations under similar situations do. The have a divorce, and the wife looks for an opportunity for re-marrying, to a man capable of taking care of the children. In Tuya's case, there is another condition: the suitor must undertake to take in the paralyzed ex-husband.

The story, as the title suggests, revolves around the events leading to Tuya's marriage, or re-marriage. The events unfold in as natural a manner as can be presented in a movie. There are moments of both farce and pathos, but none is contrived. You can believe that this is exactly the way things would happen. YU Nan who plays Tuya is a marvelous actress. All the other key characters are real local people, using their real names in the movie, but I am not sure whether they are indeed acting out their own story.

"Tuya' marriage" won the Golden Berlin Bear earlier this year, a last-minute entry in the competition and a surprise winner.