MONGOL

While watching Mongol, (directed by Sergei Bodrov) pay attention to the extremely confident way in which Temudjin/Ghengis Khan(played by Tadabobu Asano), thinks about history and his place in it; his stubbornness and unique view of tradition are ultimately what hold this film together. These traits are also what allowed the Khan to unite his people.

Now, I don’t want to summarize the entire movie, but here is a little gist of what leads up to my favorite line in film history (so far): a little boy named Temudjin ( play by Odnyam Odsuren) runs away after his father is poisoned by the Merkit tribe. Just like in any folk tale, the new man in power wants to kill Temudjine once the boy’s father is dead because he is afraid that little Temudjin will eventually usurp his power (he’s absolutely right; Temudgin becomes the Ghengis Khan). While walking in the endless cold and White Mountains, our hero is saved by another little boy. They decide to be brothers. The future Khan gets chased again and must live on his own. When Temudjin marries, his wife Borte (played by Sergei Bodrov) is stolen by the Merkits, the tribe that killed his father. To get her back, the Khan wages a successful war. Before this occurs, the little boy who saved Ghengis’ life and became his blood brother becomes his most bitter enemy, Targuti (played by Amadu Macedeka). Bad move. The Khan knows his destiny and so he must confront and defeat his brother. The Khan finds himself alone again. Throughout his wanderings, he realizes that the Mongols are not united and are loosing their sense of dignity and tradition. He must save them. He ventures out, alone yet again and constantly pursued… These flights are in the vast open dessert with nothing but rocks, sand, snow, or grass which makes for some spectacular and stark scenery (the concept of run for your life is truly made new here).

On the wide open desert, there is no where to hide. Forget action films with car chases and cheap special effects. They can’t compete with this very real and utterly vast wilderness. When the Khan is fighting against his brother, there is a brutal storm in which all the Mongols crouch and hide for fear that the sky god is angry (and crouching and hiding is the Mongol way when confronted by the power of thunder- sort of like in Harry Potter not being able to say Voldemorts name). However, the Khan does not hide. Gangis breaks the Mongol superstition of fearing the thunder god. He is unafraid, believing the sky god is on his side. In a sense, he upholds the higher tradition of faith by breaking the taboo of fear. During this raging storm that would stop any average Mongol, Ghengis khan leads his army into battle and defeats his "brother". And here is my favorite line, when his enemy asks him why he is not afraid of the sky god Tengris, the Khan says, "I have never had a place to hide form the thunder."
In such an elemental world, the sense of a sky God must be crushing in its vastness; Ghengis chooses the path of yoking his destiny to this awesome power (and what leader wouldn’t?) Throughout this film I felt a part of nature and I saw Ghengis Khan as a triumph of natural selection. The Khan had the guts to be the winds of change. He let his friends laugh at him; because he knew there sense of right and wrong was inferior. For example, he loves his wife so much that he does not hesitate to accept his illegitimate son and daughter as his own. The Khan has a great crap filter. He sees, “the spirit, not the word.” In our society today, we especially need this crap filter. He trusts his beloved more than anyone else in the world. When his wife tells him that Mongols are being disrespectful in battle, and slaughtering women and children, the Khan says , no, that is not the Mongol way . He both re-defines, and restores the values of his culture. What is the right way for us now? Be the Khan and forget your loyalty to fear. See this film. It may not provide the answer, yet it renews the validity of a truly heroic quest. - Rachel's Rude Reviews

The Visitor

The interesting question about this movie is who is the “visitor”?
The film starts off with a shot of a middle aged professor looking out his window. The shot is full of everything linear: the windows, the chair, him, everything seems to look and seem to fit like a rectangle. The impression we get is that this man is stuck, imprisoned, in a box. The door bell rings, and we think, “Ah, it must be the visitor!” It could be, but it is just a piano teacher. We follow the main character (Professor Walter played by Richard Jenkins) throughout the beginning of the film. He is such an awkward and miserable character that we think we are doomed to a miserable and awkward hour and a half …Damn you Thomas McCarthy (the director) for making me sit through this. It gets you thinking about the inescapability of your own character. If we want to get out of Walter’s point of view, imagine how he feels?

Of course, McCarthy does not make you suffer for too long. The film takes a totally new rhythm once Walter is asked to read at a conference in NYC. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but it seems that Mr. Walter finds a way to escape, and it is my feeling that he becomes the “visitor” in his own life. Through an interesting, funny and controversial experience, Walter learns to play the drums. Once he gets good enough he is brought into a drum circle. He is the only white, middle aged man in a gray suit and tie that I have ever seen in an African drum circle and it was monumental. I wanted to jump out of my seat and scream, Thomas McCarthy, you have just made history! During this pivotal scene, the director does a great job with point of view. As the drums get louder and the rhythm gets more intense McCarthy lets us feel what it is like “not to think”, but to feel. There is a synthesis of color and sounds mixed with laughter, and an emergence of a new kind of energy.

Yet, even this pivotal scene does not compare to the ending. The end scene proves the focus and imagination this director has when it comes to sound. Professor Walter is shown walking to the subway with a great sense of determination. One shot the subway zooms across the camera-next shot we see Walter on a bench banging on the drums as if his whole life was leaking into his fingers. I have never seen such a smooth, quick cut in my entire movie going experiences. The subway passes again and…well…see the movie!

By "Rachel"