Roger Ebert said that "the movies are like a machine that generates empathy". In The Horse Thief, Tian Zhuangzhuang hits upon that premise directly; with an interest in Central Asain ethnic minorities, there is an unusual shared perspective in both his intent as director and international audiences in seeking to understand a culture that feels profoundly alien, trying to display both global human kinship and the unique aspects of Tibetan culture. The film opens with one of the most distinctive ethnographic elements of the Tibetan people - the consumption of a corpse by vultures as a funeral rite. It is intensely personal, emblematic of the personal relationship that this culture maintains between religion and nature. Few explanations are offered throughout the film, leaving the audience to infer through context the significance of events that take place, and the consequences that should or should not be leveled upon the head of Norbu, a horse thief. Decades of Westerns have taught me the proper methods to respond to such an act ("a rootin'-tootin' hanging, boys"), but in this landscape convention has evolved in a completely different direction, and the narrative directly challenges the assumptions that audiences make in terms of where morality 'ought' to reside. Light on dialogue, heavy on implications. (4/5)

I must admit that during the first half of the movie I found it hard to get into it, because I had so many things going on in my head. Then I paused it, took a nap, woke up, did my thing, and went back to it in the evening and voila: brilliant. Spellbinding. Perhaps because there is less dialogue in the second half, it's more atmospheric. But maybe it was just my mood. Incredible cinematography.

1001 movies to see before you die. Something completely unexpected and ground breakingly personal for China. A true insight into an obscure Tibetan nomad culture and its Buddhist religion.

The Horse Thief is a family drama of theft, banishment and dreadful reckoning, whose images captivate and haunt in equal measure.

one of the few films which shows u things you've never seen b4

Interestingly hard to find, at least in my neck of the woods, so I found it on youtube. A dude steals for his family, I guess, and then some shots of Buddhist stuff. That's my oversimplified synopsis.

A meditative drama about Norbu, whose desperation as a horse thief in 1920s Tibet leads to banishment. The religious, mystical feel of the film is one-of-a-kind, with Buddhism imbuing itself in every frame. There are long scenes involving the rituals of the clan, and a stark but simple portrayal of the effects of poverty and hardship.

The "2001" of Asian cinema. A masterpiece.

Bleak times indeed in Tian Zhuangzhuang's 1986 movie The Horse Thief, about mechanisms of rejection among marginalized peoples of the Tibetan plains in the 1920's. A few years later Tian would manage to openly discuss the Chinese legacy of political violence in the glorious The Blue Kite, but in The Horse Thief this hot topic remains ingeniously cloaked as the scapegoat rituals of an ancient spiritual people.

I heard that director Tian Zhuangzhuang will be releasing a new film soon, now that his 10-year government-imposed silence is over. That made me want to go back to his beginnings, in this early 1980s Tibexploitation flick. As with Blaxploitation, we sort of find the Tibetans here interesting and even cool, if also primitive and for the most part benighted. Watch if beautiful, long takes of big sky country get you going.

LETTERBOX. Visualmente, es muy muy hermosa, pero su lado más narrativo es planamente convencional. A pesar de ser corta, es algo aburrida. / Visually, it is very very beautiful, but its more narrative side is flatly conventional. Despite being short, it is rather boring.

a powerful simplistic little story that crafted so delicately delightful by tian, this feels a bit like tarkovsky meets herzog, but still, i don't think this movie reach it full potential, and the pace is a little too slow even for my taste..

"The Horse Thief" is a fascinating feast for the senses, painting a picture of the culture and religion of a people living in the vast Tibetan wilderness. Though plot and dialogue is minimal, it's more than compensated for by the hypnotic music and sound, and of course, the stunning photography.

Wonderful.Really thin on the plot but the film strives for something far more commendable:for the musical;one can see the efforts for the same in the repeated shots,locations and scenery.A film full of marvellous images that haunts one long after s/he finished seeing it.

An innovative and touching homage to the Bicycle Thief. Entirely its own story, with exotic and affecting characters. Scorsese has said that this is the best film he saw in the 90's. The influence is clear in Kundun. Tian Zhuangzhang became respected around the world with this original masterpiece.

As allegory for the director's experience of the cultural revolution, stunning, complex, beautifully shot. But beware, the device he uses to tell his story is a rather mangled and unhelpfully exoticized interpretation of Tibetan culture. As allegory taken for allegory, i give it 4 and a half stars. As ethnographic-style Tibetan portrait, probably just one at best.

One of my favorites; often cited as somewhat of a remake of The Bicycle Thief, I'd argue this film is quite different, and actually better.

This is a gorgeous film shot in the barren landscapes of Tibet. The skeleton thin plot is about a horse thief who is banished by his clan for stealing. There is very little dialogue. Much of the film is a series of cultural/religious rituals shot with a semi-documentary look, favoring long static shots. The film manages to portray the harsh way of life as well as the deep spiritual relationship between the main character and the environment. Unfortunately I could only find a shoddy VHS-rip full of scratches and faded color. Supposedly Marty Scorsese's fav film of the 90's, though it was made in the 80's.

[left]Now that "[url="http://www.chrc4work.com/m/10002135-holy_mountain/"]The Holy Mountain[/url]" and "[url="http://www.chrc4work.com/m/killer_of_sheep/"]Killer of Sheep[/url]" are finally hitting the shelves, I just want to make note of the fact that the following films are [url="http://www.dvdjournal.com/extra/mia.html"]not yet available on DVD[/url]: [/left] "[url="http://www.chrc4work.com/m/horse_thief/"]The Horse Thief"[/url] "[url="http://www.chrc4work.com/m/chimes_at_midnight/"]Chimes at Midnight[/url]" "[url="http://www.chrc4work.com/m/jonah_who_will_be_25_in_the_year_2000/"]Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000[/url]" "Edge of the City" "[url="http://www.chrc4work.com/m/how_i_won_the_war/"]How I Won the War[/url]" "[url="http://www.chrc4work.com/m/celine_and_julie_go_boating/"]Celine and Julie Go Boating[/url]" "Act of the Heart" "[url="http://www.chrc4work.com/m/johnny_guitar/"]Johnny Guitar[/url]" "[url="http://www.chrc4work.com/m/travelling_players/"]The Travelling Players[/url]" "[url="http://www.chrc4work.com/m/docks_of_new_york/"]The Docks of New York[/url]" "Killdozer" "[url="http://www.chrc4work.com/m/ishtar/"]Ishtar[/url]" "[url="http://www.chrc4work.com/m/zapped/"]Zapped![/url]" [img]http://images.chrc4work.com/images/spotlights/2007/1l-1.jpg[/img] [size=1]These guys have the right idea: getting "The Horse Thief" on DVD may require the power of prayer.[/size] It's always a drag when there's a movie you read about and it sounds super cool, but it can't be found anywhere. Or if you're stuck watching mediocre copies of transcendent films (like "The Horse Thief" or "Chimes at Midnight"), wishing they'd get a nice, freshly-scrubbed DVD release. Any others I've missed?

(****): [img]http://images.chrc4work.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img]