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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready....
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Since 1996 |
Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready....
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Mongol Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Khulan Chuluun,
Honglei Sun, Odnyam Odsuren, Ba Sen, Bayartsetseg Erdenebat, Amadu Mamadakov,
Aliya and Amarbold Tuvshinbayar.
Ever wonder about the early days of Genghis Khan? Fret no further, for Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov (“Nomad�) has taken the story of this Khan and shows us what made him a feared yet honorable man in his time. The Mongols of the 12th century were fierce warriors, known for horsemanship and family values. They were nomads on the steppes of Mongolia and women were usually treated like inferiors. What made Genghis Khan unusual is that he treated his wife Borte, with respect and asked her opinion. The story begins with a nine-year-old boy, Temudgin (Odnyam Odsuren) traveling with his father Esugei, a Khan (Ba Sen) to choose a bride. It seems as though the bride had been stolen from a rival tribes years before and this insult still rankled. On the way, the group stops for the night with nomad friends and here the boy meets his future bride, Borte (here played by Bayartsetseg Erdenebat). The families agree and in five years, Temudgin will return for her. In the meantime, there is the death of Esugei, the rise of a rival Khan, Targutai (Amadu Mamadakov) who decides to kill Temudgin when he is an adult. Wrong decision, as the boy keeps escaping his slavery and when a man, enlists the help of a friend, Jamukha (played over the top by Honglei Sun). They will join forces, overthrow Targutai, and Janukha will be second-in-command. Borte becomes Temudgin’s wife, but again, there is war, slavery, battles, and this marriage is really on the run. Over the years until Temudgin pulls together all the Mongols into one cohesive unit, he is usually off for another battle. The couple does have children, though. What the film attempts to show us is that Temudgin is really a man of principles and for obeying laws. He is generous to his soldiers, so much so, that they desert one war lord for him. Life is harsh on the steppes and death but a steel blade away. Horses are the life blood of the family and proof of wealth. Temudgin’s life certainly had its ups and downs, but he always survived to become the person we know today as Genghis Khan. Cinematography by Sergey Trofimov and Rogier Stoffers is wonderfully done and the movie was filmed in China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. It’s the soundtrack by Tuomas Kantelinen that catches your attention. It’s a combination of Mongolian music with rock and I hope the soundtrack can be available. What a valuable asset to this film. Acting is difficult to tell except for the women (Khulan Chuluun as the adult Borte and Aliya as Termudgin’s mother Oelun) because you can see their faces. The men are hidden under beards. Sometimes, you can see the clean shaven face of Honglei Sun (Janukha) and he takes advantage of this with wry facial expressions and an odd neck twisting. Therefore, in battle scenes, you don’t know who is clobbering who. Swords are scimitars and the horses are tough, much like the Western America mustang. There really is little dialogue (subtitled) and long stretches of men sitting by campfires. All in all, Genghis Khan had a beginning
with several captivities that would have thwarted most men, but kept
to his principles and established an enormous Mongol empire, laying the
ground work for Kublai Khan. Sequel, anyone?
Copyright 2008 Marie Asner
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