It’s a curious piece of timing that this Chinese movie should belatedly arrive on local screens while the country exploits the Olympics as an opportunity to show its best face to the rest of the planet. The China in Wang Quan An’s third feature — the top-prize winner at the Berlin film fest back in 2007 — could hardly be any less modern, wealthy or chic.

Nope, life is hard in Inner Mongolia, a fact that Tuya’s Marriage makes abundantly and frigidly clear. Struggling to keep her family together after her husband becomes disabled, Tuya (Yu Nan) must consider taking on a new man when she too is injured. Judging by the number of suitors, she’s something of a hot property but none of them are happy that she insists on keeping the old hubby around.

Tuya’s tenacity makes her a compelling heroine even if Wang’s sentimental streak interferes with the admirably stark presentation of his characters’ world. This world may be disappearing with the region’s increasing industrialization, but as the film suggests in its stern final moments, it’s unlikely to get much easier to endure.

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