Going in to the movie Mongol, I wasn't sure what to think. Because the movie is based on the life of the "Great Khan," I was hoping that it would not stray to far afield from a factual foundation. I was pleasantly surprised to see that many key elements of Genghis Khan's life were accurately portrayed. There were some issues regarding timing and the circumstances around Ghengis' enslavement, but those changes were cosmetic and did little to alter the historic and epic feel of this film.
The historic figure we refer to as "Genghis Khan" began life as Temudjin (Tadanobu Asano). He was the son of Esugei (Ba Sen) the Khan of the Borjigin's. Esugei was poisoned by his enemies who exploited tradition to take advantage of Esugei's reverence for tradition. Temudjin was too young to lead and too small to kill, so the clan was fractured and Temudjin banished. Temudjin suffered a series of hard luck experiences as he grew into manhood, but always managed to come out of his tribulations hardened and wiser. His ability as a tactician have landed him in our history books.
Before Temudjin ever became the Great Khan, the man who united the Mongols and conquered most of Asia, he was a broken man lacking even a horse. No Mongol should be without a horse. But a series of fortunate alliances and remarkable leadership, as well as an understanding of sharing the spoils of war with his men set Temudjin apart. Men followed him because he was a leader. Mongol takes us through Temudjin's younger years and into several early battles in adulthood that allowed him to rise to power. His alliance with his former rival Jamukha (Honglei Sun) is chronicled as well as his marriage to Borte (Khulan Chuluun) whom Temudjin chose as his bride at the age of twelve. The first half of Temudjin's life ends with references to his accomplishments later in life provided in the form of factual paragraphs before the credits roll.
The ending felt like a saga had been completed and another yet to be embarked upon. It was a good stopping point and indicated that a sequel might be forth coming at some point. I don't recall ever seeing one. Director Sergei Bodrov did an excellent job of adapting Arif Aleyev's novel to the screen. The characters were well developed, the dialogue was fresh, the story was gripping...it was a well constructed story with excellent pacing. The characters had some intense interactions that added some great drama to the film. When Jamukha and Temudjin end up on opposing sides, it is interesting to see the respect and deference that Jamukha pays to his adversary, knowing his deft tactical sense. The screenplay provided an exceptional foundation for the actors and great cinematography to result in an epic film worth watching.
Asano needed to convince the audience that he had an inner strength and grittiness that transcends the flesh. His character suffers incredible injuries and torment, internalizing the world around him and constantly learning from his enemies. His cold calculating intellect were deftly captured by Asano. I was convinced by his character and impressed by the illusion he helped to create. In terms of sheer personality, Jamukha is probably the character requiring the most passion next to Temudjin. Sun was superbly cast in that role, bringing an odd combination of likability and intensity to the character. The rest of the cast were peripheral to these two larger-than-life personalities. The cast, as a whole, were excellent, but Sun and Asano were simply outstanding.
Mongol is a war movie, and as such, has many bloody battles. The carnage is depicted with some great special effects (some of the blood spatter was almost of the quality of 300, another historical epic). My feeling about violence in war movies (contextual) is that the MPAA does not do these films justice. This film was rated R almost solely on the violence. War films are violent...one should assume that when renting the film. I am not against contextual violence. Because of my own views on contextual violence (as opposed to the random violence you will find in any first-person-shooter video game), I would not place an age restriction on this film. However, if pressed, I would say ten to twelve for a starting point. Run time is two hours, six minutes.
Mongol was an exceptional film that I somehow missed in 2007. My loss. This would have been an incredible film to have witnessed on the big screen. I am disappointed I won't have that chance. If I were to see a subsequent screening of this film at an art house or dollar theater in my area, I would certainly watch it again for the benefit of seeing the effects larger than life. This film is epic and deserves to be seen full-scale. From the foundation of the screenplay to the cinematic quality, all of the pieces come together nicely to create a beautiful look at the life of Genghis Khan. Great special effects, an excellent soundtrack and strong performances rounded out a film that could have come close to beating out The Counterfeiters for the Best Foreign Language Film of 2007. This film is a must see. 8/10.
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