TIFF Report: MONGOL Review

While it can certainly be argued that Sergei Bodrov's Mongol has been the victim of a misleading ad campaign that portrays the film as something slightly other than what it is there is certainly no denying that this is one massive, impressive piece of work - an epic in every sense. Bodrov's film aims to take us through the life of a legend, the legendary emperor Genghis Khan, from the age of nine until the battle that would cement his position in history. But while the trailers and clips released thus far have portrayed the picture as revolving around the Khan's military conquests Bodrov is actually not particularly interested in these matters. Though a number of battle sequences are included Mongol is not much interested in how the great man rose to power, in the battles and tactics, but rather in how he became strong enough to do so.

The film opens with a key few days in the life of Temudgin, a nine year old boy who would eventually grow to become the great Genghis Khan. Riding to take a bride from a rival clan in hopes of establishing peace Temudgin instead is smitten by Borte, a young girl from a friendly, much less powerful tribe, and tricks his father into allowing him to choose her instead thus guaranteeing continuing strife rather than peace. On their return home Temudgin's father, the local clan chief, is poisoned by yet another rival clan and his father's own lieutenants trun on the young boy and his family, stealing their flocks and goods and forcing them to flee for their lives. And so Temudgin's young life is spent on the run, always on the move, always afraid for his own life. He is all alone, with no allies whatsoever until he meets Jamukha, the son of another tribe clan who will become his blood brother and eventual rival.

As the film moves forward through time Japanese star Tadanobu Asano takes over the role of the adult Temudgin. Though he is eventually able to eventually claim his young betrothed, Temudgin's life becomes no easier with love. His enemies mount in number, every success is followed by a corresponding set back. The rival Merkit tribe he was supposed to marry into kidnaps his bride, his father's betrayer annoints himself Khan of the clan, Temudgin himself is eventually captured and sold into slavery in another far off kingdom. His life is an epic struggle, a classic case of what does not destroy him making him stronger, until Temudgin eventually returns to his homeland with a fire in his belly, a fiercely strong will, a strong sense of justice, and the rock hard belief that the Mongol people need to be united under a single rule of law even if half of them must be killed to do it.

Mongol is an oddly lyrical sort of film, one that moves episodically through the life of the great Khan showing moments that at first may seem inconsequential but are later understood to be key in his understanding of the world. The film skips through time on a regular basis, title cards letting the audience know where and when we now are, which would normally be very disruptive to the narrative flow of the picture were Bodrov not so assured in what he wanted his audience to see and why. Production values are dazzling, as is the cinematography which take great advantage of the stark, natural beauty of Mongolia and Kazakhstan. Asano is very strong in the role of Genghis Khan, balancing the ferocity of his character with a sly sense of humor and a deep, deep devotion to his beloved wife. The players handling Jamukha and Borte are likewise very strong.

Those approaching Mongol expecting an action packed adventure will be disappointed. There are only a handful of (very impressive) battle scenes in the film, the last and largest of which the producers bizarrely opted to release online some weeks back. So if you saw that clip and viewed it as a tease and are expecting more of the same you should disabuse youself of that notion right now. That's as big as it gets. But if you can put that expectation aside and approach the film as what it is there is much there to love.