Mongol (2007)

Director:

Sergei Bodrov

Writers:

Arif Aliyev (writer)
Sergei Bodrov (writer)

Release Date:

20 September 2007 (Russia)

Genre:

Drama | History

Tagline:

Greatness comes to those who take it.

Plot:

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. |

Plot Keywords:

Asia | 13th Century | Russia | Mongol | 12th Century

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 9 wins

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Aliya	...	Oelun
Tegen Ao	...	Charkhu
Tadanobu Asano	...	Temudjin
Ying Bai	...	Merchant with golden ring
Khulan Chuluun	...	Börte
Bao Di	...	Todoen
Bayertsetseg Erdenebat	...	Young Borte
Deng Ba Te Er	...	Daritai
You Er	...	Sorgan-Shira
Sai Xing Ga	...	Chiledu
Ba Yin Qi Qi Ge	...	Temulun
Ba De Rong Gui	...	Young Taichar
Sun Ben Hon	...	Monk
Zhang Jiong	...	Tangut Garrison Chief
Amadu Mamadakov	...	Targutai
Odnyam Odsuren	...	Young Temudjin
He Qi	...	Dai-Sechen
Li Jia Qi	...	Mungun
Bu Ren	...	Taichar
Su Ya La Su Rong	...	Girkhai
Ba Sen	...	Esugei
Honglei Sun	...	Jamukha
Ba Te	...	Khasar
Ba Ti	...	Dzhuchi
Ba Tu	...	Altan
Ji Ri Mu Tu	...	Boorchu
Tunga	...	Sochikhel
Amarbold Tuvshinbayar	...	Young Jamukha

Also Known As:

Монгол (Russia)
Mongol: The Rise to Power of Genghis Khan (UK)
Mongole, Der (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for sequences of bloody warfare.

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

Germany | Kazakhstan | Russia

Language:

Mongolian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Canada:14A | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Italy:T | USA:R | Ireland:15A | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

China

Company:

Andreevsky Flag Film Company

Trivia:

A battle scene required 1500 horses and riders. These had to be imported from Kazakhstan to China. The riders, not being professional actors, needed 2 months of training.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008) (TV)

"Do not scorn a weak cub . . ."

Mongol (2007), was co-written and directed by Sergei Bodrov. It was filmed in Kazakhstan, and is in Mongolian with English subtitles. It's a biography of Ghenghis Khan, especially his rise to power. The movie quotes an old proverb: "Do not scorn a weak cub; he may become a brutal tiger." Actually, as portrayed in the film, Ghenghis Khan was hardly a weak cub, even as a young child. However, he certainly became a tiger when grown--whether brutal or just powerful is another question.

The film is more or less consistent with the Wikipedia report of Khan's life. He was captured and enslaved as a boy, but managed to escape and eventually conquer his local tribal enemies. (The movie portrays Ghenghis Khan as a young boy and then a young man. The film ends before we can see Khan's eventual consolidation of his huge empire.)

There is (literally) a cast of thousands. The movie is colorful, the battle scenes are graphic, and men, women, and horses all look great. The acting was excellent, especially that of Odnyam Odsuren as the young Ghenghis Khan, Tadanobu Asano as the grown man, and the beautiful Khulan Chuluun as Börte, his wife.

For political and/or esthetic reasons, Khan is portrayed as a man who brought the warring Mongolian tribes together, and as a lawgiver and just ruler. I don't have enough knowledge of the period to know whether the people of his empire would have taken this view. However, this is a movie, not a Ph.D. dissertation, so I accepted it as an action-filled and enjoyable--if not profound--film.

We saw this film at the excellent Rochester High Falls International Film Festival. Because of the sweeping nature of the battles, and the glorious shots of the landscape, this movie will lose a lot on DVD. Try to see it in a theater, preferably one with a large screen.