This is a film from one day in the life of Joemasue, an illiterate peasant woman in Qinghai Province, Tibet; anyone who has romantic illusions about peasant life would be well-advised to see the film, as the hard work and limited prospects for the main subject act as a real corrective to the romantic vision.
We follow Joemasue from her early rising and getting the breakfast ready for the family, before trapsing 1/2 hr to the nearest stream for water, which is carried back in a huge and what must be very heavy wooden container.
She mentions that this was the most difficult task she faced when she first came. Now the Government have put in a tap-water supply and her burden is much eased by that. We also see her working in the fields, taking care of the animals in the household, and making bread, etc.
She mentions at the beginning of the film how she had been unable to complete schooling because she had to go and help look after her sister’s new home, and it comes up again at the end of the film how she feels her illiteracy has held her back in life. Fortunately the children are attending a school and getting an education.
The overall impression is of a hard and difficult life, lived without many opportunities, and with a very limited horizon for Joemasue, who will face the same tasks every day of her life.
The film was made by Puhua Dangzhi.
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