At the Movies: Mongol
Word of the week: hagiography.
An acquaintance with new (and even dubious) words isn't that unusual when you're a writer who lives with a Scrabble player, but this one was new to me. I stole it from other reviewers bandying it about in reference to Mongol, Sergei Bodrov's spectacular epic about the formative years of Genghis (or Chinggis - supreme) Khan.
Hagiography is the study of the lives of saints and holy leaders. I'm confused; I thought Genghis Khan was a fierce warlord who brutally and strategically created the world's largest-ever empire?
The first part of a proposed trilogy, Mongol opens in 1192 as a nomadic tribal chief takes his son, Temudgin, to choose a wife. On their return, the chieftain is killed, and his son captured by his father's successor. The stubborn, resourceful boy escapes, claims his bride and sets out to avenge his clan.
Mongolia was a hotbed of tribal unrest due to lack of unity and common law. Temudgin survives skirmishes, captures and escapes, gaining the love of his strong wife Borte, the respect of his men, and an understanding with the God Of the Blue Sky. He rises steadily and spiritually to become a redoubtable force by the movie's climactic battle, and pledges to restore law and unity to the Mongol people.
Shot in Kazakhstan and Inner Mongolia, this German/Kazakhstani/Mongolian/Russian coproduction is visually stunning, with extraordinary landscapes and memorable photography. The eye soon adjusts to the slightly precarious camerawork used for close shots; in fact the unusual camera angles during the hand-to-hand combat place the viewer within the action, rather than outside looking in, and bring home the savage proximity of close battle. Advancements in CGI and matte techniques allow vast aerial shots and battlescapes that are finally indistinguishable from reality. The only way you know they're CGI is because movie budgets prohibit their sheer scale.
Also on the plus side are the strong performances by Japanese actor Asan Tadanobu as Temudgin, Khulan Chulun as Borte, and Chinese actor Honglei Sun as his blood brother Jamukha. The subtitles are no obstacle; much of the story is visual anyway, and the story and presentation are culturally clear to international audiences.
So who's the saint and why the confusion? Aha. It's about historical fact vs artistic license, the bane of many inaccurate epics that should have been perfectly exciting using truth alone.
Very little is known about Temudgin's early life, and the few sources are conflicting. Faced with three choices: a) factualisation, which was tricky, b) glorification, which makes good movies, or c) vilification, Bodrov opted for b), the just, loyal, principled husband and warrior.
But St Genghis? I don't think so. Everyone is exaggerating, filmmakers and critics alike. Mongol is a vast older-style epic, but wants more balance. After all, this is the man who at 13 supposedly killed his older brother, who scholars suggest was paranoid, who executed entire cities, and who deposited his DNA all over Asia and Europe. This is the man alleged to have said:
"The greatest happiness is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them bathed in tears, to clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters."
Maybe in the sequels.
Thumbs up, Village Theatre, to the screening of local shorts - in this case Robin Dawson's climbing film. Golden Bay is rich and fortunate.
Maria Polglase
MONGOL (R16) Next screening at the Village Theatre, Sunday 21 December at 8pm (FINAL SCREENING).
