The Horse Thief (1986)
(Dao ma zei)
Country: CHI
Technical: col/scope 88m
Director: Tian Zhuangzhuang
Cast: Tseshang Rinzim, Dan Jiji
Synopsis:
Tibet, 1923. A horse thief is ostracised together with his family and eventually dies of starvation, 'sacrificing' himself for his baby son.
Review:
Atrociously subtitled but with very little dialogue, the film has some splendid images and some pretty cryptic ones. The picture is of a way of life which had gone unchanged for centuries - the date is perhaps significant in predating the Chinese occupation - and the Buddhist prayer wheels and burial rites dominate the iconography. Unrelenting use of fades, which break up the narrative even more into autonomous episodes, unfortunately not always so evidently autonomous, precludes any great pace despite the comparatively brief running time. Undeniably memorable, all the same.
(Dao ma zei)
Country: CHI
Technical: col/scope 88m
Director: Tian Zhuangzhuang
Cast: Tseshang Rinzim, Dan Jiji
Synopsis:
Tibet, 1923. A horse thief is ostracised together with his family and eventually dies of starvation, 'sacrificing' himself for his baby son.
Review:
Atrociously subtitled but with very little dialogue, the film has some splendid images and some pretty cryptic ones. The picture is of a way of life which had gone unchanged for centuries - the date is perhaps significant in predating the Chinese occupation - and the Buddhist prayer wheels and burial rites dominate the iconography. Unrelenting use of fades, which break up the narrative even more into autonomous episodes, unfortunately not always so evidently autonomous, precludes any great pace despite the comparatively brief running time. Undeniably memorable, all the same.
(Dao ma zei)
Country: CHI
Technical: col/scope 88m
Director: Tian Zhuangzhuang
Cast: Tseshang Rinzim, Dan Jiji
Synopsis:
Tibet, 1923. A horse thief is ostracised together with his family and eventually dies of starvation, 'sacrificing' himself for his baby son.
Review:
Atrociously subtitled but with very little dialogue, the film has some splendid images and some pretty cryptic ones. The picture is of a way of life which had gone unchanged for centuries - the date is perhaps significant in predating the Chinese occupation - and the Buddhist prayer wheels and burial rites dominate the iconography. Unrelenting use of fades, which break up the narrative even more into autonomous episodes, unfortunately not always so evidently autonomous, precludes any great pace despite the comparatively brief running time. Undeniably memorable, all the same.