Tuya's Marriage (2006)

The Age of Commercialism

Fantastic!

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Tuya's Marriage was an interesting movie to say the least. It was the first Mongolian film that I had ever seen, and it was also one of the most interesting to say the least. I felt like there was an interesting story behind the movie, but I felt as if the actors and director didn't really as much passion for this. Then again, this is coming from an American perspective rather than someone who is actually Mongolian, so I don't truly know how much they put in to this film. I did enjoy all of the camera angels in the film, as well as the location and props. They did a wonderful job recreating a Mongolian home. I also liked how well they all rode their horses during the film. It was clear that some time and thought was put in to making the actors ride as if they were Mongolian.

Before viewing this film, I was very unfamiliar with Mongolian culture. I had always imagined the Mongolian people as a nomadic group who only lived in tents and constantly from place to place in large groups. It had never occurred to me that there were many Mongolians who did live in a stable place in homes. This movie definitely opened my eyes to that. It also made me think about the various issues that people face in different regions of the world. Tuya's issue was that her husband was crippled and she was at risk of becoming crippled so she needed to marry another man in order to support her family; however, this proved to be very emotional for Tuya and her husband, Bater. It was a slower paced movie but the visuals were very beautiful and intriguing. The director did a good job of portraying the landscape of Mongolia and setting up the scene so the viewer got a sense of the typical way of life in Mongolia. Overall I would give this film 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Just a beautiful and authentic movie with beautiful scenery of Mongolia, China and gives a good idea of daily life of a different kind in this world. I especially liked the tranquil way it has been shot almost like a documentary style way of filming. Also the actress who plays Tuya in this movie has such a beautiful face that it's even noticeable tightly wrapped in her traditional headscarf. I can't say absolutely nothing negative about this movie. There should be much more movies like this coming out that not only have the ability to entertain you but even make people think about what we think life is really about.

Unlike the two faux documentaries which people now associate with Mongolian films, TUYA'S MARRIAGE is a well-acted, intricate and layered story about a strong young woman trying to hold her life together. Very like Gong Li in THE STORY OF QIU JU, Yu Nan plays Tuya, a stubborn and beautiful woman faced with an impossible predicament who must find her way through an onslaught of well-meaning (mostly) but ineffectual men to keep her family together. Tuya's affection for and loyalties to her disabled husband Bater are put to the test when she is forced to find a new husband in order to survive. All along the "obvious" choice, Shenge, her foolish but adorable neighbor, keeps trying to be the hero but falling on his face. Tuya must keep saving the men in her life from near disaster: Bater, Shenge (twice), and even her young son. The film becomes the romance/triangle of one woman and two men - much like JULES AND JIM or even FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE (co-written by Wei Lu, who also co-wrote TUYA'S MARRIAGE). At the end of the film, her marriage includes both men, but immediately we see that she must continue saving them from themselves - and keeping everything and everybody together.