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Genghis the Good

Very few leaders have had the profound effect on the world that Genghis Khan did. He is arguably the greatest military leader in history, taking his people to previously unthinkable heights of power and riches. His reputation is one of utter ruthlessness, or at least that is the primary character trait that was drilled into me during my schooling. Admittedly, I have forgotten most of what I was once taught about him (the same could be said for a lot of what I learned) but I'm pretty certain that the Genghis Khan presented to me was far different than what we are shown here in Sergei Bodrov's vision of him in "Mongol". If I had never heard of Genghis Khan before, I might think him to be the greatest humanitarian to ever walk the earth. Something doesn't add up.

"Mongol" focuses on the early years of Genghis Khan, ending around the time he becomes leader of the Mongols. Genghis Khan was given the name Temujin at birth after the leader of the last tribe to be defeated by the child’s father, as was the custom. At the age of nine, he went to a neighboring tribe with his father to find his future bride and, as part of the arrangement, he was left with the tribe until he came of age. He quickly ended up separated from his betrothed by his father's rivals. The stage is therefore set for Temujn to evolve into Genghis Khan.

What follows is Temujin climbing the Mongol equivalent of the corporate ladder. Bodrov presents the character as a combination of Mel Gibson in "Braveheart" and Russell Crowe in "Gladiator". Temujin is a lone good man in a world of evil and barbaric men. When he slaughters people they deserve it.

One huge plus here is that "Mongol" is filmed beautifully by cinematographers Rogier Stoffers and Sergei Trofimov, with many long shots of vast golden-hued vistas standing in stark contrast with the constant violence one would expect from an endeavor such as this.

No matter the accuracy of the portrayal of the real Genghis Khan, where "Mongol" ultimately fails is in Bodrov's need to frame the story as a Hollywood hero show. Genghis Khan may not be the one-sided brute we all think but here he is almost Dudley Do-right. Another failing is that "Mongol" at times slips into a fantasy land similar to the "The Lord of the Rings". Some of the battle scenes look like they could have been fought in Mordor. When attempting to portray one of the most famous or infamous figures of history it would seem necessary to at least try to keep your players grounded in reality, whatever that reality may be. Bodrov has a vision of a maligned Genghis Khan but bending over backwards to turn him into a near boy scout takes a necessary edge away from the tale and renders everything into a kinder and gentler world of unreality.