She can ride a horse like the best cowgirl. She herds (?) sheep, actually. She handles a camel as well as Omar Sharif does in Lawrence of Arabia, though here the camel is a two-hump Bactrian, not your run of the mill dromedary. This is Inner Mongolia, after all - part of China. You know you're in China because of an old photo of Mao on someone's wall.
"Tuya's Marriage," the third film by Chinese director Wang Quan'an, is well worth your while, once it gets released in the English-speaking world. There is hope: it won the Silver Hugo (Special Jury Prize) at the just-concluded Chicago International Film Festival, after picking up a Golden Bear at the 2007 Berlinale.
Here's what the director told the Berliners about his inspiration for the film:
My mother was born in inner Mongolia, not far from the film's location. This is why I've always liked Mongolians, their way of life and their music. When I learned about the extent to which massive industrial expansion is turning the steppe into a desert, and how local administrators are forcing the shepherds to leave their homelands, I decided to make a film that would record their lifestyle before it all disappears forever.
After seeing other films about Mongolia (I especially liked "The Cave of the Yellow Dog"), I was not disappointed. David Lean would feel at home with the long vistas of empty steppe, and the depiction of the harsh but surprisingly modern life of the shepherds - along with horses and camels, we see motorcycles, tractors, and trucks, not to mention the odd Mercedes - rings true. Though the theme of a strong, independent woman might get this tagged in some quarters as a "woman's film," I defy any man to watch this and not be enthralled by Tuya. She is played by Yu Nan, who has won "Best Actress" at four international film festivals, including one for "Tuya's Marriage" in Chicago.
I don't like it when film critics tell me the story, so I won't give away "Tuya." Suffice it to say that there is some suspense, a bit of humor, lots of scenery, and rare insights into life in this almost unknown part of China. You might want to add it to your watch-it-if-it-comes-to-town list.