Mongol (2007) - Review by Monica Kang

History of the Film

The premise of the film was the story of Genghis Khan , the leader who founded the Mongol Empire, which ruled the expansive areas of Eurasia. The movie shows the early life of Temujin later Genghis Khan, not as an evil war-mongering barbarian but an inspiring visionary leader. This film was meant to shed light on this supposed ruthless killer as someone who is human who had his own struggles in life. Temujin was a slave, an orphan and a combatant whom everyone tried to kill. The cast was predominantly Mongolian except for the two main characters: Genghis Khan who was played by the Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano and the rival of Genghis, Jamukha played by Chinese actor, Sun Honglei.

This fact-based epic traces the early and turbulent years of Genghis Khan, then known as Temujin. Despite the death of his father, his blood-brother’s deception, and even having been forced to become a slave, Temujin manages to build a course of his own potential greatness. He sharpens his military skills and marries his wife Borte, whose love and reliability are critical elements of his historical success.

Historical Analysis of the Film

There were a lot of inaccuracies as the director took free reign on creativity to try an entice the viewers. Genghis was captured only once compared to the three times he was captured in the film. The horses in the film were very modern as they were large and had long legs when in history horses could be described as small and hardy. During the death of his father, Genghis was told he would be the next Khan after he dies, but that is not something that would happen in Mongolian clans as they would never have a young ruler. Mongolians would always have a mature male become the Khan of the clan.

https://youtu.be/haMpdX_amXk