Mongol (2007)

Director:

Sergei Bodrov

Writers:

Arif Aliyev (writer) &
Sergei Bodrov (writer)

Release Date:

20 September 2007 (Russia)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance | War

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:

Slave | Genghis Khan | Thunderstorm | Poison | Mongol

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 11 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Tadanobu Asano	...	Temudjin
Honglei Sun	...	Jamukha
Khulan Chuluun	...	Börte
Aliya	...	Oelun - Temudjin's Mother
Ba Sen	...	Esugei - Temudjin's Father
Amadu Mamadakov	...	Targutai
He Qi	...	Dai-Sechen
Ben Hon Sun	...	Monk
Ji Ri Mu Tu	...	Boorchu
You Er	...	Sorgan-Shira (as A You Er)
Ba Tu	...	Altan (as Hong Jong Ba Tu)
Deng Ba Te Er	...	Daritai (as E Er Deng Ba Te Er)
Bao Di	...	Todoen
Su Ya La Su Rong	...	Girkhai (as Su You Le Si Ren)
Sai Xing Ga	...	Chiledu

Also Known As:

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

MPAA:

Rated R for sequences of bloody warfare.

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

Kazakhstan | Russia | Mongolia | Germany

Language:

Mongolian | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:14A | Germany:12 | Ireland:15A | Italy:T | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

China

Company:

Andreevsky Flag Film Company

Trivia:

The quotation used at the beginning of the film is a genuine Mongolian proverb: "Do not scorn a weak cub. He may become the brutal tiger."

Goofs:

Factual errors: Non-Mongolian characters in this movie speak modern standard Mandarin Chinese. This would be incorrect because, this language as the standard Chinese language originates with the Qing Dynasty hundreds of years later, the regions depicted in the movie appear to be central and western China where they would speak a different dialect and several characters speaking Chinese don't appear to be Chinese and all and would most likely be speaking a Turkic dialect.

Quotes:

Jamukha: You're letting an enemy go free.
Temudjin: I'm letting a brother go free.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: (#7.12)" (2008)

"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.