The Horse Thief is a 1986 Chinese film by acclaimed director, Tian Zhuangzhuang. It follows one of Tian's favorite topics, Chinese minorities, a topic he touched upon in 1984's On the Hunting Ground and would return to in 2004's documentary, Delamu. Like these other films, The Horse Thief shows Tian's fascination with China's ethnic minorities, and in particular the Buddhist ceremonies that these peoples practice.
Film director Martin Scorsese listed the film as his favourite from the 1990s on the television show Roger Ebert & the Movies (the film was not widely released in the United States until the 1990s). The Horse Thief was produced by the Xi'an Film Studio.
The film follows the titular horse thief, Norbu as he struggles to support his family in Tibet. After his son dies, however, Norbu strives to change his ways. Mirroring the starkness of the landscape, the film is nearly free of dialogue, with only the occasional terse exchange between characters.
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