Movie: Mongol

International Title: Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan

Release: 2007

Country of Origin: Russia, Kazakhstan

Languages: Mongolian, Mandarin

Genre: Drama, War, History, Adventure, Biography

Mongol Movie Review & Storyline:

As I wrote in my previous review about Sergei Bodrov’s unmatched ability to portray the great Asian Steppe and its culture. I am happy again to review another of his “masterpiece” today, Mongol. It is a story of a boy named Temujin, who went on to become the legendary Genghis Khan. The founder of the greatest and largest empire the world has ever seen. Mongol has all the elements a good movie possesses. The direction is absolutely brilliant, screenplay is awesome and cinematography is of top class. One of the best thing about Mongol is its great music and background score composed by Tuomas Kantelinen and Altan Urag.

The film starts with Temujin, a captive of the Tangut Kingdom thinking about his childhood and the hardships he faced for survival. In the flashback we get to know that at the age of 9, he was orphaned and had to struggle hard to stay alive which he did with the help of his God “Tengri”. Temujin makes a friend, Jamukha (who would later turn out to be his biggest nemesis). The movie sheds a light on the social and cultural life of the Mongols of that time. Temujin’s rival tribe abducts his wife, Borte that hurts him. To get back his wife Temujin seeks Jamukha’s help and they go to war with the Merkits (tribe). After getting back his wife, Temujin leaves Jamukha saying that he is a master of his own and can’t serve him as his second in command. Here starts a conflict between the “blood brothers”.

The story then goes on and we see a small phase of happiness in Temujin’s life. But, the time comes when he has to choose between family and his destiny. And, unsurprisingly he chooses the later. The movie ends when Temujin unites many tribes of Mongolia and defeats a large army of Jamukha and his allies. After the win, Jamukha is captured by Temujin’s men. As per the historical records Jamukha was executed by Genghis Khan, but in the movie he is seen as spared by Temujin.

My Favorite Scene from the Movie…

Rating & Verdict of this film:

I rated this film 9/10, and without any doubt it deserves this rating. Mongol offers some intense acting by lead actors. The action sequences are well-directed and one of my favorite scene was the last battle scene. Tadanobu Asano as Temujin is a brilliant choice and he never let us down. His power packed acting keeps us glued to our seats. Honglei Sun as Jamukha is equally impressive as well as explosive. The rest of the cast too has performed good.

As far as this film’s historical accuracy is concerned I am not sure about it as the history of the Great Mongol Leader, Genghis Khan has been written after his death and there are many “inaccuracies” in each account. Anyways, for a movie lover Mongol is nonetheless an absolute delight to watch. I would recommend it to everyone who loves history based films. 

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Mongol Full Soundtrack Playlist.