Tharlo
- -Tharlo is an orphan. Now grown up, he makes a living as a sheep herder in the village. He has grown a ponytail, so people simply call him “Ponytail”, since nobody remembers his real name anyway. Tharlo has a remarkable memory. He remembers so many things, except his own name. He is now in his forties, and he has yet to have his first woman. Now Tharlo goes to town to take a photo for his identity card. He meets a girl in the barber’s shop who changes the course of his life. He embarks on the journey to find his true self. He sells all his sheep and those entrusted by other villagers to him for care, and decides to use the money to go out into the world with the girl, only to find himself being deceived and cheated by her. Ironically, in his journey of self-discovery, Tharlo has lost his sense of self. As he witnesses in the mirror his ponytail being cut off and leaving him bald, he can no longer see himself as a man with a history that he recognizes.
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Tharlo is typical of Tibetans of the present generation. This is a story that shows them in the state of confusion, disorientation and desensitisation. The film is made in black and white. The ruggedness in the images speaks of the situation and ambience of the vast lands of Tibet, and of the state of being of the protagonist.
Tharlo is 40, and has a remarkable memory that allows him to recite Chairman Mao’s little red book. He leaves a quiet life alone in the Tibetan mountains with his hundreds of sheep. But his life turns upside down when he is asked to go to the city to have his photo taken for his first ID card. The photographer sends him to a young and pretty hairdresser who soon shows interest in him and his ponytail. But is she serious when talking about escaping together to Lhasa or Beijing? All he can think about now is the lovely city girl, and his journey to happiness and new discoveries…