Mongol
Dual Wielding Genghis Khan
Release: (2007)
Runtime: 126 Minutes
Starring: A bunch of Japanese and Mongolian actors
This is what is said to be the first in a trilogy about Genghis Khan. This first entry told about his childhood and rise to power. The film was produced by a Russian director and was nominated for the foreign language category in last year’s Oscars. Although the movie is a bit slower than big blockbusters, the action scenes were awesome. Combat with big swords and fast horses with lots of blood and impaling. From what I hear, they avoided using special effects for a lot of the big action scenes and instead used upwards of 1,000 horseback riding warriors.
I can’t vouch for how historically accurate the film is, but it seems like the writers did their research and most of the facts align to what is widely accepted. A lot of the actors are Chinese and Japanese, but they speak Mongolian throughout the film. Not to say I would recognize the difference if one of them started speaking Japanese.
The costumes and scenery were what really did it for me. Lots of big open spaces and people wearing thick fur or skin coats. There is a lot of traversing terrain throughout the film, and most of the scenes were filmed in the same region, making it that much more realistic.
We are presented with the idea of a Mongol honor code and how it is dying out. As the clans war with each other they let go of many of their customs. Genghis, or Temudjin, sees this problem and hopes to restore his people to where they once were culturally, while building their strength politically. The majority of the two hours is spent finding out about the culture and why it is that Temudjin feels so strongly about them.
Its nice to see a movie that combines and interesting story, a good amount of action and well developed characters. How come it seems like these are always coming from overseas?…
Accessibility: 6
Technique: 9
Thought Provoking: 6
Originality:5
Entertainment:8
