The Horse Thief

The Horse Thief
Directed by	Tian Zhuangzhuang
Written by	Zhang Rui
Produced by	Wu Tianming
Cinematography	Hou Yong Zhao Fei
Music by	Qu Xiaosong
Production company	Xi'an Film Studio
Release date	1986 (1986)
Running time	88 minutes
Country	China
Language	Mandarin

The Horse Thief is a 1986 Chinese film by 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 (which was not widely released in the United States until the 1990s) as his favourite from the 1990s on the television show Roger Ebert & the Movies. The Horse Thief was produced by the Xi'an Film Studio.

Plot

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.

External links

• The Horse Thief at IMDb
• The Horse Thief at AllMovie
• The Horse Thief at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Horse Thief at the Chinese Movie Database