Mongol (***)

Here is the epic biopic of Genghis Khan, a man so prodigious as to be the apparent ancestor of millions of current humans, yet presented so purely that he is only seen here sleeping with his beloved wife. As Braveheart is to the Scots, so this myth-like tale is to the Mongolians. However, since the tale ends midway through the life of its hero, rather than giving him a Jesus-like sendoff, the myth is incomplete. Punctuated with period violent episodes, this production from Kazakhstan earned a foreign-language film Oscar nomination, and certainly the production values are there, but it’s the sort of old-fashioned epic where, were it about George Washington, it would mention the episode about chopping down the cherry tree, but not the one where he had deserters shot during the Revolutionary War. Still, not bad, and there’s some impressive shots of the steppes of Central Asia.

IMDB link

viewed 7/9/08 at Ritz East; reviewed 7/10/08