Tharlo

Dir. Pema Tseden. 2015, 123 mins. China. DCP. In Tibetan and Chinese with English subtitles. With Shide Nyima, Yangshik Tso, Tashi. In Pema Tseden’s most sublime film, Tharlo is a Tibetan shepherd from Qinghai with a phenomenal memory. He recites the entire text of Mao’s famous essay “Serve the People” to a policeman when he applies for an ID card. Needing to wash his long, braided hair for his ID photo, Tharlo meets beautiful hairstylist Yangtso, who charms him and takes him out for a wild and disorienting night on the town. Highlighted by cinematographer Lü Songye’s mesmerizing black-and-white long takes and superb performances by Shide Nyima as Tharlo and Yangshik Tso as Yangtso, this fable about the agonizing clash of two Tibetan cultures—traditional and contemporary, pastoral and urban—is a penetrating psychosexual study of masculinity in crisis, and a riveting exploration of social change. 

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). There is a $1.50 transaction fee per ticket for all online purchases. The cost of admission may be applied toward a same-day purchase of a membership. 

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