Tadanobu Asano as Genghis Khan who rose from slave to bloodthirsty leader of men.
Kazakhstan's entry for this year's Academy Awards as Best Foreign
Language Film is an epic chronicling the rise of Genghis Khan from
orphaned boy to bloodthirsty leader of men.
Mongol may not sound like the most appealing prospect - a two-hour,
subtitled history lesson filmed on location in China, Mongolia and
Kazakhstan, which would have been home to nomadic tribes in the 12th
century - but Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov knows how to engage his
audience.
He focuses on the characters and in particular the relationship between
the legendary warrior and his wife, contrasting the tenderness between
the couple with the fiery determination that drives a man to conquer an
empire.
The film looks stunning, beautifully photographed by cinematographers
Sergei Trofimov and Rogier Stoffers, including some spectacular battle
sequences that hint at the hack and slash to come in successive films
(this is the first part of a proposed trilogy).
Spanning more than 30 years, the story begins in 1192, the year of the
black rat, with Temudgin (Asano) - the man who will become Genghis Khan
- encrusted in grime and languishing in a crude prison cell.
"The monk you sent to find your wife is dead," reveals of one his
captors.
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We flashback two decades to the Mongolian steppe where the young
Temudgin (Odsuren) joins his beloved father Esugei (Sen) on an
expedition to choose his bride from the Merkit tribe as a way of
bringing peace to the warring clans.
En route, Temudgin falls under the spell of spirited 10-year-old Borte
(Erdenebat) and chooses her instead as his intended. A match is agreed
for five years hence.
MONGOL (15, 125 mins)
Released: June 6
On the way home, tribal rival Targutai (Mamadakov) poisons Esugei, who
dies in his son's arms whispering, "I'm leaving you my son, you are khan
now."
Unfortunately, Targutai prevents the boy's ascent to power by
terrorising his mother (Aliya) and vowing to kill Temudgin when he is
older.
Fleeing into the wilderness, the outcast Temudgin is saved from
starvation by tribal prince Jamukha (Tuvshinbayar).
Moving forward to 1186, Temudgin escapes from Targutai's murderous
clutches and reunites with Borte (Chuluun), only for the Merkits to
kidnap her in revenge for spurning their women.
Temudgin gives chase, aided by his blood brother, Jamukha (Sun).
Blessed with a sweeping orchestral score by Tuomas Kantelinen, augmented
with authentic Mongolian melodies, Mongol unfolds at a canter for an
engrossing and visually stunning two hours.
Dialogue is kept to a minimum, ensuring British audience won't have to
wade through a sea of subtitles, relying on Asano and his co-stars to
convey their characters' emotions with a lingering, anguished glance.
Skirmishes between Temudgin and his rivals are breathlessly paced,
complimented by a tense escape from the prison cell and a desperate
horseback chase to escape the vengeful Merkits.
The warrior's defiant final words - "Mongols need laws. I will make them
obey, even if I have to kill half of them!" - set the scene
tantalisingly for Temudgin's date with destiny.
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