Di, the 13-year-old Hmong girl at the heart of Ha Le Diem’s shattering documentary, has a beautiful, infectious laugh that rings through the misty mountains of northern Vietnam where she lives with her family in a small village. With her big eyes and rosy cheeks, Di has an endearing mischievousness about her, but even in the games that she plays with other youngsters, the shadow of an archaic tradition looms large. At one point, Di and her friends pretend to act out a “bride kidnapping”, a Hmong custom that during the New Year celebration allows a boy to snatch a girl away and force her into marriage.
This practice was how her parents met, and it was also how her older sister was married at the age of 14. Most of the housework and farming labour are performed by the women – even Di has to carry wood logs much bigger than herself – while the patriarch spends most of his day drinking. Still, Di is not defined by her restrictive social environment; her bubbly personality instead dominates the screen. From her desire to complete her studies to her crushes on other boys, Di is determined to make her future her own.
