756. Dao Ma Zei

Dao Ma Zei
The Horse Thief
1986
Directed by Tian Zhuangzhuang

I kind of knew going into this that it would be a chore to get through.  I knew that it had very little dialogue, so I resigned myself to just enjoying it as a visual spectacle.  Unfortunately, it didn't really deliver on that front either.

The movie tells the story of Norbu, a horse thief.  Yes, I know that is obvious, but give me break.  Not a lot happens in the film and the few compelling events are relayed in such a dull way that it was hard to pay attention.

Like I said, I expected to be in awe of the visuals in this film.  I suppose there were moments of beauty, but there were also several instances of animal cruelty. I am 99% it was all real, which is quite upsetting to me.  I whine so much about sexual violence though I guess I can let this one go.

Sorry for such a short review.  It was just kind of forgettable and one that I could have happily skipped.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Martin Scorsese's number one film of the 90s.  It came out in 1986 but I guess it didn't really make it to the United States until the 90s.  And if you are Martin Scorsese you can just arbitrarily change facts at your leisure.