As Norbu finds out much later, it does not even escape Nowre, his clansman and fellow thief who robbed the merchants alongside him. In spite of being extremely religious and God-fearing, to the point that he even puts his own money into the Temple's pile of goods as replacement when he swipes the necklace, Norbu's life as a horse thief brings on a lifelong onslaught of grief and hardship. As such, it is also quite fixated on the concept of Karma. Such not-so-subtle symbolism populates the film. The scene in the latter part of the film where Norbu gets a job to carry a death totem into the river to rid a village of the epidemic that's killing their sheep only goes to hone in the fact, literally making Norbu the carrier of death itself. Death follows Norbu and his family right until the final scene, having been brought upon himself by his lawless life. The film is fascinated with Death, which also plays a big part in Buddhism. Though the film is minimalistic with its dialogues, it is not to say that it doesn't have an engaging storyline. The religious practices and processions, some which take up a significant amount of the film's runtime, are depicted in great detail. In that sense, the film works like a vast and well-placed window, feeling almost like a documentary for the most part, taking a look at the inner workings of Buddhist Tibetan tribes. Like his previous film “On the Hunting Ground”, which looked at the life of Mongolian hordes, “The Horse Thief” also takes a look at the life, beliefs and ethics of yet another minority tribe in the remote parts of China. Tian Zhuangzhuang's film is fascinating for several reasons. But karma is not quite done giving him his dues just yet. As a result, Norbu, his wife and sick son are banished from the village, leading them into a nomadic life. Despite his religious ways, the bad karma caused by his thieving ways eventually catches up to him when, after one such loot, he pockets a necklace for himself from the pile of temple offerings, an act his clan deems theft. So religious are they that even when they steal from the merchants, a majority of the loot is offered to the temple and just a measly amount kept for themselves. Most of his time is spent praying, playing with his son, stealing horses and robbing travelling merchants. Like the rest of the people in his very small village, Norbu and his wife are extremely religious Buddhists. In a remote Tibetan community lives Norbu and his family. “ The Horse Thief” is screening at San Diego Asian Film Festival Tian Zhuangzhuang's “ The Horse Thief” was one of the rare films to venture far into the Tibetan plateaus and bring us a Buddhist story about an ethnic minority that was otherwise neglected by media and popular culture. Though there is a thriving industry now, back in 1986, there weren't many films being made in Tibet based around Tibetan life and culture.

Horse thief definition