Director: Wang Quan An

Distributor: Music Box Films, www.musicboxfilms.com

 

Tuya is a hard-working shepherd in contemporary Inner Mongolia. She tends her flock while caring for two children and husband Bater, who was permanently disabled digging a well. Now Tuya must transport the well water to her home, 30 kilometers away. In the process, she injures her back and wonders what will become of her family. Bater suggests that she divorce him and remarry an able provider who will care for her and the children. Realizing this may be the only way to preserve her family, Tuya agrees but insists that whoever she marries also cares for Bater. Tuya is besieged by suitors but none are enthusiastic about including him in their home. Director Wang Quanan’s film is cinematically gorgeous and offers a fascinating look at the austere beauty of the Mongolian landscape, its inhospitable climate and the inevitable encroachment of 21^st century life on its traditionally nomadic people.