Movie trailers can be a good way to promote a movie, but they can also be very misleading. Mongol is a prime example. The trailer makes it look like Mongol is going to be an action packed look at the life of Genghis Khan, as he grows to be the man who conquers most of the known world. Graphic battle scene after graphic battle scene in a tour de force to rival historic epics like Braveheart and Gladiator is what I was expecting.
Instead Mongol was a human drama, a love story and a look at nomadic tribal life in the 1100s. Now that you know the truth, don’t let it put you off, because even though Mongol wasn’t what I expected, it surpassed my expectations as a movie. It did have the graphic battle scenes that the trailer promised, but they were just elements in the story of a little boy, destined to become a fearless leader, his respect for tradition, family and god, along with his undying love and loyalty to his wife.
The bleak landscape is the canvas which director Sergei Bodrov paints an even bleaker fight for survival as tribal politics, revenge and jealousy all take aim at the little boy who would, and through many trials he learns perseverance, determination and faith, all the elements he will need to become a man who can united the nomadic tribes and take on the world.
Lusciously filmed and brilliantly acted, Mongol will not disappoint, and may even make people realise that a subtitled film can still be a great movie going experience.
Reviewed by: Jonathan Read. Rating: R16 – contains violence. Duration: 124 mins. Genre: Drama, True Story. Director: Sergei Bodrov. Actors: Asano Tadanobu, Honglei Sun, Khulan Chuluun, Odnyam Odsuren, Amarbold Tuvshinbayar, Bayartsetseg Erdeneba. Release Date: Now showing.
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