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Friday 5 December 2008

Saved by the horses

Mongol
15, Nationwide

Mongol traces the early years of the legendary warrior Genghis Khan and does not feature, at any point, the world’s greatest adventurer/archaeologist or four fortysomething women living and loving in New York. Yes, it is probably safe to come out now. They’re all gone! However, having said that, the other morning when I went to put on my shoes I did find Indy in one and Carrie in the other. ‘Be off,’ I said as I tipped them out. ‘You’ve had your moment, now shoo!’ So it is safer but I don’t think we are quite out of the woods yet. Be vigilant. And always shake your shoes.

So, Mongol, which is a different kettle of fish altogether or, as they say in Mongolia: ‘A different kettle of fish altogether.’ They have fish. They have kettles. Why wouldn’t they say that? Anyway, it’s been written, directed and produced by the Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov (Prisoner of the Mountains; nope, me neither, but as everyone puts that in brackets after his name I will too) and bills itself as a ‘stunning historical epic’, although I think we’ll be the judge of that. It spans from when Genghis was aged nine through to 1206, when Mongolia’s nomadic, warring clans united under his leadership, and opens with Genghis as a boy (so cute, in his furry hoody thing!) travelling with his father, a tribal leader, who has decided it is time for his son to choose a bride. Shot in Kazakhstan and Inner Mongolia, the widescreen landscapes are dazzlingly stunning from the very start, as are the pounding horses. Landscapes and pounding horses; what’s not to like? Well, everything else pretty much, although not liking might be too strong. I didn’t dislike it. It’s just dull.

The narrative is standard, epic stuff, with everything kicking off after Genghis is meant to choose a bride from a particular clan, but finds his heart captured by spirited Börte, a little girl from another clan, so chooses her instead. Pity the non- spirited girls in movies like these. They never get anywhere. Anyway, it’s a bad move. His father is then betrayed and slain. A resentful follower seizes power. Genghis becomes a fugitive, is captured and escapes, is captured and escapes, becomes a man (played by the Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano), is captured and escapes, is captured and escapes, claims Börte, who is also captured and then escapes, before being captured again. And then escaping. There is much capturing and escaping, plus quite a lot of butchery on horseback, and while flesh-ripping is all very well — we expect a bit of flesh-ripping in these instances — it isn’t balanced by sufficient fleshing out.

More articles from: Deborah Ross | this section

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