Music like Horse Thief

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.

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. At the end of the film, he decides to resort to stealing horses again to support his family. He is caught and tells his family to escape back to the village where they will be welcomed while he fends off the owner. He is eventually killed at the end of the movie, though the scene is not made visible. Mirroring the starkness of the landscape, the film is nearly free of dialogue, with only the occasional terse exchange between characters.