Three Sisters

The title evokes the three rich and powerful Soong sisters, married to some of China's most influential men in the 20th century. By contrast, the three poverty-stricken sisters portrayed here, ages four, six, and ten, gather dung, forage, slop pigs, chase sheep, pick lice, and dig potatoes. Their loving father, working far from home, comes when he can. In the meantime, they are fed and put to bed by a grandmother, an aunt, and neighbors. They have time to bathe, wash clothes, cook noodles, and watch TV. An occasional wedding or festival brings the villagers together. At one point, the father takes the two younger children away to school, while the oldest attends school nearby—she likes to write. It's a grimy, laborious, cold, and stinking life in the remote mountains of Yunnan province, but the girls are not devoid of happiness or love.