Mongol
By MovieCritic on 07-01-2008
Mongol, a international collaboration between Russia, Mongolia, Germany, and Kazakhstan, is a Russian filmmaker's version of a story of Genghis Khan as rendered in a Chinese poem. In addition to being nominated for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar (submitted by Kazakhstan), the movie won or was nominated for awards in sound, costuming, direction, acting, and production in Russia and at the Asian Film Awards. Film buffs in the U.S. will notice that it pays homage to some of the traditional American genres. It invokes the epics of Cecil B. De Mille as well as old-fashioned, John Wayne-style Westerns. Artisans and Rationals will appreciate the unrelenting pace of the action and the special effects used throughout. For Guardians and Idealists, there are ongoing themes of love and devotion between father and son, mother and son, and husband and wife.
Temudgin (As a child, Odynyam Odsuren; as a man, Tadanobu Asano) is thrust into manhood after his father is poisoned by enemies. Part of what angered these enemies is that nine-year-old Temudgin deigned to choose a wife from a rival clan. Targutai (Amadu Mamadakov), whose own bride was stolen by Temudgin's father, kidnaps the boy with the intent to hold him until he is grown enough to kill. He escapes with the aid of his blood brother Jamukha (Sun Honglei). Temudgin claims his wife Borte (Khulan Chuluun), but she, too, is kidnapped after a brief honeymoon visit to the groom's mother's home. The cycle of Temudgin's gathering teams of warriors, waging battle, getting betrayed, and then prevailing against the betrayer happens several times, with the ultimate result of his amassing a horde of followers that recognize him as their leader. This movie is planned as the first in a trilogy; as the film ends, Genghis Khan has not achieved the height of his glory. The stunt work is impressive; the CGI is not always as effective as it could be. Blood splatter, in particular, looks jarringly phony. The digitalized crowds are also obvious and sometimes distracting.
Verdict: Worth viewing, especially for epic fans. Note that the film is in Mongolian with English subtitles.
