Mongol was a movie I didn't select from Blockbuster myself. I actually had no interest to buy it, let alone watch it. But thanks to my mother's small interest in Genghis Khan and foreign films, I watched and I enjoyed! I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
Mongol is a foreign film, filmed in Mongolian with English and Spanish subtitles.
It was directed by Sergey Bodrov and the crew was predominately Russian.
It was a 2007 Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film.
So what's it all about?
The movie is about the early life of Genghis Khan before he really became Genghis Khan. He is referred to, throughout the whole movie, as Temudjin (his original birth name). His early life is portrayed from childhood just up until the time he fully takes on the name of Genghis Khan. It is an epic adventure of a movie and I saw myself comparing it to the Lord of the Rings, but with the knowledge that Mongol was actually based on history. The movie tried to accurately portray events how they happened to the best of its ability and knowledge and I really enjoyed seeing that history come alive on screen! Knowing it was historically based made the movie even more interesting to me. I definitely had the urge to google Genghis Khan after it was done to learn more and to see what was really true!
Here's the trailer:
What did I think?
The movie features beautiful, far reaching landscapes of China, inner Mongolia, and Kazakhstan as well as violent wars and battles. It portrays Genghis Khan as a very religious man, fearful of his god and the lightning storms that He creates, but also hints at the theory that he was "god gifted" so to speak and that's part of why he became such a famous, great leader (because his god was looking after him).
The movie has themes of friendship, love, power, morality, and vengeance.
The movie moves so swiftly in its telling of its story that its easy to get caught up in the majesty of it. Scenes and acting were realistic and well done and the characters were really individualistic and interesting. You ended up caring a lot about everyone involved in Genghis Khan's life, even his eventual "enemy", Jamukha. Finally, the director knew when to use his grand, scoping shots for drama and suspense and when to show character's emotions close up on screen.
Gripping and well done!
8.5 out of 10
What do you think?
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