Mongol is a sweeping, beautiful epic that succeeds visually but stumbles narratively.
Temudgin is nine when the story opens and it is time to select his future bride. Naturally, the boy who will one day be Genghis Khan makes a controversial choice. Still, it is a day of joy, at least until Temudgin’s tribal leader father is poisoned on the way home. The tribe deserts Temudgin’s family, leaving him not only an outcast, but marked for death when he comes of age.
This is merely the first of many hurdles Temudgin must overcome until he finally unites the Mongols and becomes Genghis Khan. Mongol tells the story of his rise, not of his conquering, so don’t expect to see Mongols sweeping across the steppes.
Well, actually, we do see a fair bit of Mongol warrior action, it is just all internal fighting. These sweeping, epic scenes, filmed in remote China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan, are where Russian director Sergei Bodrov’s movie best succeeds. Alas, the story leaves a bit to be desired.
Mongol’s biggest problem is that is suffers from Underpants Gnomes disease. South Park’s Underpants Gnomes had a brilliant business plan. Step 1: Collect underpants. Step 3: Profit. Their problem? Step 2 was a question mark and so are a lot of Step 2’s in this film.
Time and again, a problem is presented for Temudgin. Then we cut to the next scene and the problem is resolved. How? Apparently that’s not important.
A perfect example is when young Temudgin is walking across a frozen lake and falls through thin ice, plunging into the freezing water. The camera cuts away to a scene with supporting characters. When we come back, Temudgin is lying in the snow, ready to be rescued. How did he get out of the water? Not shown.
This odd narrative pattern repeats over and over throughout the movie – Temudgin is placed in a situation that looks dire, only for the problem to be magically resolved without explication. It is unclear why Bodrov uses this odd narrative device. Most likely it has something to do with suggestions of divine intervention helping the future Genghis along his path. Regardless, it does not a good movie make.
How would you have felt if the gang from Star Wars went from certain death in the trash compactor to whistling down the halls of the Death Star in one cut? Or if Spielberg had gone from that big round rock about to crush Indy straight to the safety of his classroom? Exactly.
Perhaps if Mongol had been more focused on a documentary sense of history and the times this narrative choice would be more palatable. But make no mistake, this is a warrior epic, more swashbuckler than history lesson.
Bodrov never gets too deeply into Temudgin’s mind and motivations. Of course, considering the scant historical records available about this time period, any such soul searching would have been nothing more than speculation. Temudgin is like a force of nature, moving through the film without a care as to how other people do things.
Overall, it is interesting to see the future scourge of the west and progenitor of history’s largest contiguous empire as something more than a caricature. The effort deserves applause, even if the execution leaves a little to be desired.
Mongol is in theaters now.
For more information, visit www.mongolmovie.com