Mongol (2007)

Director: Sergey Bodrov

Cast: Tadanobu Asano as Temudjin, Honglei Sun as Jamukha, Khulan Chuluun as Börte, Aliya as Oelun - Temudjin's Mother, Ba Sen as Esugei - Temudjin's Father, Amadu Mamadakov as Targutai, He Qi as Dai-Sechen, Ben Hon Sun as Monk, Ji Ri Mu Tu as Boorchu, You Er as Sorgan-Shira (as A You Er), Ba Tu as Altan (as Hong Jong Ba Tu), Deng Ba Te Er as Daritai (as E Er Deng Ba Te Er), Bao Di as Todoen, Su Ya La Su Rong as Girkhai (as Su You Le Si Ren), Sai Xing Ga as Chiledu

'Mongol,' the Russian-directed semi-historical epic (big emphasis on
the semi- here) shot for $20 million in China (and Mongolia and
Kazhakistan) with a multi-national cast and crew and Japanese and
Chinese stars, purports to depict the first thirty-five years of the
life of the emperor Genghis Khan. I say "purports," because not much is
known of this period and even in depicting legend, Bodrov chooses to
leave out many of the essential connectives that make a good story (or
fairy tale or legend). Temudjin, as the young super-Khan is called, is
a yoked prisoner, for example, awaiting execution; then, inexplicably,
the yoke is off and he's free. He sinks through thin ice deep into the
frozen water below; then, inexplicably, he's lying on land and getting
rescued. He is languishing in a Chinese prison--his face seeming to
acquire a patina of dust and sand (I liked that part: Bodrov excels at
faces and tableaux); then he's miraculously found by his faithful wife
Borte. She throws him a key and sets him free. Then, inexplicably, he
is leading a vast army to defeat his arch rival. Over and over, how we
get from point A to point B is left on the cutting-room floor. This is
enjoyable as spectacle but unsatisfying from other standpoints.

How Genghis Khan got to be Genghis Khan, in short, is one thing this
movie doesn't begin to try to explain. Could anyone? That I don't know;
but 'Mongol' presents its biographical narrative without the
connectives that make sense of a life. Despite lots of dramatic scenes
with snappy dialog, striking images, and above all computer-assisted
battles with crunching bones and crackling arrows and ringing swords,
the film has an epic style without epic themes because its great issues
are not so much resolved as abruptly, magically removed. This may in
fact be more an epic love story than anything else. It is that in the
backhanded way the 'Odyssey' is a love story, because, though Temudjin
is away from Borte a lot of the time as Odysseus is mostly away from
Ithaka and Penelope, 'Mongol's' opening sequence gives Borte a primary
importance, because she (as played by Bayertsetseg Erdenebat),
belonging to another tribe, a liberated young woman of the twelfth
century, isn't chosen by but chooses Temudjin when he's nine years old
and she's ten. It's not supposed to be that way--and maybe it wasn't;
it seems a bit implausible. Temudjin is traveling with his Khan (tribal
chieftain) father (Ba Sen) on their way to placate another tribe by
choosing the boy's wife from their girls. When they don't, the father
is promptly poisoned by the other tribe. And its leader, Targutai
(Amadu Mamadakov), vows to kill Temudjin--but not for a year or so,
because "Mongols don't kill children."

Well, what Mongols do or don't do seems up for grabs, and probably at
the time, historically, "Mongol" itself must have been a rather vague
concept. In fact that is another running theme: what's a Mongol? What
are their primary values? There is no satisfactory answer, though
killing and stealing are advanced as major concepts.

Surprisingly, since not too many are "to the right of Genghis Khan,"
and since he succeeds in wiping out all his enemies, Temudjin as played
(as an adult) by the imposing Tadanobu Asano is a gentle-faced,
zen-like fellow who's a strong advocate of fair play. Tadanobu, along
with the somewhat over-histrionic Chinese actor Honglai Sun as Jamukha,
his childhood blood brother and eventual arch rival, are both
impressive. But the real star, with some substantial help from
computer-generated effects, is the vast landscape of steppe, snow,
mountain, and sky that dominates many scenes. With effective use of
lenses and light, the filmmakers have created an epic look, and it's
this, plus the authoritative acting, that make this film worth
viewing--but only if you like this kind of thing and if you don't mind
that you're not going to emerge from it with any historical knowledge.
Said to be the first of a trilogy. One will approach the sequels with a
certain reserve.

Shown as part of the San Francisco International Film Festival
April-May 2008 and in US theatrical release June 2008.