moviereview - Mongol

MONGOL

	The story of Temudgin, a young boy who would become the leader of half the known world - Genghis Kahn.	score 3+	moviereview rates films from 1 (unwatchable) to 5 (unmissable)
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Cast
Tadanobu Asano, Khulan Chulun, Honglei Sun, Odnyam Odsuren

Director
Sergei Bodrov

Screenwriter
Arif Aliyev, Sergei Bodrov

Country
Russia / Mongola (subtitles)

Rating / Running Time
M / 123 minutes

Australian Release
June 2008

Official Site

The tale of Mongolia’s mightiest warrior comes with its fair share of carnage as Russian director Sergiei Bodrov spares few with a signature blood-spatter. Yet this can-do tale of the Khan who did is not all death and decapitation. In fact, Mongol goes some way to addressing the broad misunderstanding of a man who, at the turn of the 13th century, ruled half the known world.

This compelling film opens soon after Temudgin (later Genghis Khan) has been captured and enslaved by Tangut traders. Caged, separated from wife and family, his righteous sense of rage was given focus that, after his escape, enabled him to create one of the most powerful empires on earth. That came later – Bodrov’s concern is with a young boy and the forces that shaped a leader-to-be.

In 1192, fighting was a way of north Asian life. A nine-year-old is declared a sworn enemy when tribal warriors kill his father, and from this point forward, young Temudgin fights for his life. It’s a daily battle that will eventually place him opposite his blood brother and one-time confidant. The intervening years have taught him a new ideology, one he takes to the Mongolian people, one they take to their hearts.

Bodrov is a multi-Oscar nominated writer/director who brings a unique energy to this project. Working with two cinematographers, his bold visual story telling captures stunning landscapes and puts them to work on behalf of the story. Elegant camera work and staging speaks eloquently of the untamed world in which Kahn lived and add a measured beauty to relentless battle-scenes of blood-curdling intensity.

Mongol puts up a good fight although the rising body count soon upsets the film’s pace and distracts from more interesting storylines – Kahn’s devotion to his wife, his enlightened phliosophies and rise as a leader are passed over for digital armies rattling digital sabres. This is a rare film that should be longer. As it devolves into an eastern Western, a handful of threads are left hanging that, if resolved, would turn an eye-catching runner into a dazzling tapestry.

// COLIN FRASER