Mongol is coming to a theatre near you

Posted on | September 12, 2007 | 1 Comment

I have to say outright, I really enjoyed Mongol – an epic set in, of course Mongolia, in the 13th century. It chronicles the rise of Temudjin from boyhood, slavery and eventually Khan of khans – or Genghis Khan as he is more familiarly know in the west. Genghis means King of Kings.

 

I said, in an earlier post, to throw out the wretched epics produced in the past 5 years. I was referring to the pathetic entries churned out by Hollywood such as:

 

Troy – whoever scripted and directed this travesty should be sent on a 10 year Odyssey to discover real movie making.
Note to director – READ THE F*#@ING BOOK!

 

Alexander – god save me from the California bleached blond look. I kept expecting him to come out with “DUDE” whenever he opened his mouth. An angst ridden and indecisive Alexander of this ilk could never have commanded the loyalty of troops. What were they thinking? While watching this, I kept thinking “Oh Angelina Jolie (Alexander’s sexed up mom) please just drop kick his whiny ass into oblivion.”

 

300 – what a travesty to foist off this on the unsuspecting public! This was nothing more than the comic book version of a young man’s fantasy world. History was irrelevant to the tale.

 

Now that being said – I understand that any depiction of an historical event or retelling of a legend will always be subject to modern tastes and interpretations. Also, we are left with tremendous gaps in our knowledge of what really happened – there were no tape recorders to immortalize speeches and conversations. Again, interpretation and imagination are needed. Time has a habit of muddying the waters of history. In any film depiction I want a sense of realism on the screen. I also want the writers and directors to make an attempt at sticking to history. If you are selling me history, then do so. If you are selling me a fantasy, then warn me.

 

Mongol has that sense of realism that is missing in the above monuments to director’s egos. It was done without the $60 million dollar + budgets. Of course this is a movie about mythologizing. Temudjin, the hero, struggles to overcome losses, slavery and adversity with a stoic outlook. He is true and honest etc etc. What separates this movie out is the scripting and feel. Director, Sergei Bodrov, never becomes bogged down with pretty computer graphics or cgi cast of thousands. He lets the bleak, harsh landscape of Mongolia speak for him. He lets the small cast of central characters speak for him. No need for modern trickery to set the mood.

 

Bodrov’s tale is a familiar one to any history lover. And, yes, it is open to interpretation concerning the events. But Bodrov doesn’t play fast and loose with the basic history. Nor does he loose the plot of the film through overindulgence with special effects. Its a basic story told in a very straight forward fashion.

 

Temudjin is played by Tadanobu Asano – a very busy Japanese actor. He handles the role capably and is believable as the hero. Genghis Khan, as he later becomes known, is a hero to many, monster to others. This film, he is the hero.

 

Khulan Chuluun plays his wife, Borte. Can’t find much info on her, but her presence on screen is wonderful. Here is what can only be described as an understated performance. Borte is a very strong, resilient woman and Khulan is effective in showing this.

 

The real scene stealer is mainland China’s Honglei Sun who portrays Temudjin’s blood brother Jamukha. Given the right role, I think Honglei could chew up the scenery, spit it out and come back for more. Each frame he was in, I couldn’t help but watch him. His portrayal of Jamukha was quirky, strong and energetic. I saw him in a movie a few years back, in a vastly different role. He played a veterinarian in the Chinese film Zhou Yu’s Train (2002). I loved that film – well, I’m a fan of the star Gong Li so go figure. Now I’m a fan of Honglei Sun. I’m going to watch for future entries of his. Watch for him in this film.

 

Film Festival gossip has it the film is to be released on the 21st of Sept. The official site still has no info. But it is going to be released world wide. The film is worth the price of a ticket. I’m going to wait and get this one on DVD – its a keeper

Share|
Category: History, Literature, Movies, TIFF, Toronto, Toronto Film Festival

Comments

One Response to “Mongol is coming to a theatre near you”

  1. maxgxldealer
    June 1st, 2009 @ 9:34 am

    Hi

    that’s awesome, pal. that’s awesome, love to read this post