Mongol Review
Hey there guys. Thanks for checking out our Mongol review from the SXSW film festival. This is a film that Doug has been looking forward to seeing for a while now. Did it measure up to his expectations? Yeah… it sure did.
The General Idea
Plot outline from IMDB: The story recounts the early life of Genghis Khan who was a slave before going on to conquer half the world including Russia in 1206
The Good
The Mongolian steppes are open grasslands untouched by the filthy hands of humans, and they are breathtaking. The wide open plain gives the illusion that the sky is within your reach. There is something incredibly freeing about seeing so much space, as inspiring as it was on film - I can only imagine how overwhelming it would be in real life. When I was 17, I had the chance to live and eat with a Mongolian and he would often tell me tales about his land and his love for goat meat. He missed his home more than most; and it is easy to see why. Most everywhere else seems like a chicken cage in comparison. The landscapes were used to great effect in this film and the ancient lands served as narrators with much to tell.
The horse warfare of the Mongols is legendary. From shooting a bow while riding, to the use of long reaching, curved slashing blades - enemies were decimated with speed and strategy from the centaur-like mongol warrior. In this film we see the evolution of the Khan’s strategy one encounter at a time; and it delighted me. Strategy
When doing a biopic you are hard pressed to find a better subject than Genghis Khan. Much of his history has been passed on via oral tradition; and often the lines between fact and fiction can get a bit shady - but even if 1/100 of the stories are true - this man is still among the greatest who have ever lived. I was overjoyed to see a film recount his tale on the silver screen. Sergei Bodrov did an outstanding job and delivered an epic movie that showcases the journey of this man from boy to legend.
The Bad
In the vast myth of Genghis Khan it may be possible that he was captured 3 times in his life, but to show them all in one movie may have been a mistake. The film dragged the most when Genghis was captured and by the third time I was staring to whisper “not again” to myself. I would have preferred if they slimmed down the amount of “capture time” from the film. That being said this is a fairly minor complaint.
Overall
This was a legendary epic that paid tribute to a man that conquered and plundered using strategy, charisma and force of will. I was delighted throughout this film and consider it my favorite of the SXSW film festival. Whenever you get a chance to see this film - please do so. Out of 10, I give Mongol a 9.
15 Comments, Comment or Ping
Ray Flaherty
I have been waiting to see this movie a long long time, sadly I live in Newfoundland and become well behind the flow of normal movie productions. That being said, great to see it wasnt a pile of poopie. I plan on seeing this whenever it hits our little island.
Mar 13th, 2008
kurt
Glad to hear you liked this great film, which earns part of its greatness by completely defying expectations.
Of course, it’s hard to beat the great Tadanobu Asano in the lead role. Hey, he’s better than John Wayne!
Mar 13th, 2008
kurt
Hey, props to the fellow newfie (erm, newfoundlander…)!! I think you’ll be importing the DVD eh?
Mar 13th, 2008
bigsampson
ah i cant wait to see this movie man…9/10 gets me ready for sure.
Mar 13th, 2008
Andy
its a pretty bad and boring movie. 9? wtf is wrong with you?
it shouts “standard, standard” all over the place.
Mar 14th, 2008
Johnny(not my real name)
Dang it, I was gonna make a movie about Genghis Khan. Bugger.
Mar 14th, 2008
dougnagy
I have to disagree with you Andy, I thought this was epic
Mar 14th, 2008
kate
are you guys reviewing Doomsday?
That movie seems like it would fit the profile of what Movie Blog is interested in. namely Sci-fi, action movies. My thought on it was that it was boring and did nothing interesting.
Mar 14th, 2008
Jeneratorler
One sign of a strong movie for me is that after the movie ends is that the story engaged that I want to understand more about the characters. This did it for me. I’m ready to research and read more about Mongolia’s history.
Mar 27th, 2008
ozz
this movie was bad, 1.bad at the mongolian they were speaking(because the actors were mostly chinese, japanese, kazakh, and one mongolian( who plays burte( chingiss khan’s wife), they couldnt get any mongolian actors to play because the plot and history was historically inaccurate, and no mongolian wanted to get involved with the movie, they showed it in mongolia, they started to get angry and most of the viewers walked out. there for this movie is, i dont know why kazakh’s are supporting this film, yet they say they are our (mongolians) brothers and sisters. THIS MOVIE IS A HOAX
Apr 6th, 2008
Kanthan
I saw the film last night, Even though (to my knowledge) its not historically correct it still a very good film. creating a historically accurate film of his life would be movie sucide. I Really enjoyed the battle scenes. I ve been waiting to see a genghis Khan film since I could remember and i wasnt disappointed.
Apr 7th, 2008
SİNEMA
This film is an example of an extremely strong narrative accompanied by excellent cinematography and superbly executed war scenes… reminds me of Saving Pvt Ryan without all the bangs and clatter. The acting is also commendable. There seems to be a great deal of research that has gone into the subject and is a great eduction on the early life of Chengiz Khan. I wish there was more, but for the integrity of the subject I think the makers have done justice to the story. Would really appreciate if this made into a trilogy, but I don’t think the film makers have left any scope to stretch it further. They have compressed a epic life tale into a little more than an hour and a half and with great flair and ease which is calls for a standing ovation. Lesson to Indian Film makers!!!
May 15th, 2008
mongolian
(Type your comment here. Make sure you’ve read the commenting rules before doing so)i could help someone who needs help on mongolian history i m mongolian nd th movie was ok one thing is that the acters wernt real mongolians and many people believe that the name is gengis it is Chingis khaan
Jun 21st, 2008
mongolian
oo yeah contact me at babusaak@yahoo.ie
Jun 21st, 2008
JASON
I have to agree with the minority opinion is saying that this was a little weak. Life is good, then he gets captured and is going to be killed. Then he escapes, life is good, then he gets captured and is going to be killed. Then he escapes, life is good, then is captured and is going to be killed. His enemies are able to identify him from a mile away and catch him with no problem, but then they leave him alone (repeatedly) to easily escape.
The scenery was beautiful, and the acting was pretty good (especially the wife, child and adult). The fight scenes were a little gratuitous with all the spattering blood and they were a little grainy and not smooth. I read several glowing reviews and maybe my expectations were too high, but I thought it dragged and was a little weak.
Jun 27th, 2008
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