When Tuya’s Marriage (Tuya de hun shi) begins, tears flow from the eyes of Tuya (played by Yu Nan). The rest of the film, directed by Quanan Wang, reverts to an earlier time to explain why. Tuya has been scraping out an existence in a barren part of Inner Mongolia with Bater (played by Bater), a crippled husband, an infant child, and a flock of sheep tended by their preteen son, Zhaya (played by Zhaya). Water is running out, she injures herself so that she cannot tend the family business, so they are desperate. Tuya, therefore, seeks a new husband and officially divorces Bater to become marriageable, but she does not want to abandon Bater to an old people’s home. Potential suitors come and go, but she is unhappy with them all. Sen’ge (played by Sen-ge) claims that he wants to divorce his unfaithful wife to marry her, but before the divorce goes through, Tuya commits to a new husband, Baolier, a former classmate who is now an oil tycoon. He wants to park Bater in a government facility and let him die. Sen’ge then appears to propose just in time. The scene with Tuya’s tears then appears on the screen with an explanation that may bring the same to filmviewers. The time period, the heyday of Deng Xioping, gives further meaning to the story, as Baolier typifies the new generation of sharp men of business who are abandoning traditional Chinese virtues. MH
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