Cyclical. Tuya's Marriage can definitely be described as cyclical. I was immediately struck by the vast loneliness and poverty that was apparent throughout the movie. It was obviously shot in a very remote area and it surrounded the telling of the lives of a small family of sheepherders. Tuya, the main female character, was a working mom. She handled the heavy-duty labor normally a man would do after her husband was permanently disabled in an accident on the farm. She toiled daily under the pressure of taking care of her husband, two children and farm.
One day Tuya was injured severely. That resulted in a need for Tuya to stop the hard labor and begin looking for other answers to keeping her family cared for. She and her husband Bater sought a divorce so that Tuya would be able to find someone else to take care of her and her children. A sudden twist at the divorce "hearing" was that Tuya's requirement to make the divorce official was to remain being the one responsible for taking care of Bater.
Word of Tuya's character spread quickly and men were falling over themselves (literally) to propose to Tuya. Her one request? As long as Bater could stay with her, she would marry anyone who would be willing to care for the four of them. She had several suitors who were unable (or unwilling) to go along with this requirement. Along came an old friend with plenty of money and the willingness to pay for Bater to be cared for. Tuya went along with this old friend and they traveled together to a city where they placed Bater in a nursing home. On his first night there, Bater struggles with his demons and Tuya struggles with a now physically aggressive old friend and fights feelings of loss and frustration at her new-found situation.
Before the credits roll, Tuya experiences a great deal more hardship and frustration, peppered with moments of small joys. The message this movie delivers is one of a strong, loving, dedicated and empowered Mongolian woman.
I enjoyed this first movie because I was inspired, brought to tears, and shared the feelings and emotions of someone far separated from my own lifestyle, but with whom I feel I have shared some of the same experiences and challenges of womanhood and motherhood.
The IMDB link
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