REVIEW: DVD Release: By The Will Of Genghis Khan

Film: By The Will Of Genghis Khan
Release date: 27th September 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 122 mins
Director: Andrei Borissov
Starring: Stepanida Borissova, Sergei Egorov, Gernot Grimm, Orgil Makhaan, Eduard Ondar
Genre: Action/History/War
Studio: Manga
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Mongolia/Russia/USA

There have many films about the life of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire and notoriously ruthless warlord of the late 12th and early 13th centuries, and director Andrei Borrisov’s By The Will Of Genghis Khan (2009) followed hot on the heels of Mongol: The Rise To Power Of Genghis Khan (2007), the first of a proposed three-part trilogy directed by Sergey Bodrov. Both films focus on the earlier years of Genghis Khan, but By The Will Of Genghis Khan was made for an estimated $10 million, roughly half the budget of Mongol: The Rise To Power Of Genghis Khan.

By The Will Of Genghis Khan adopts a straightforward, linear approach to its subject, charting Genghis Khan’s life from birth to the point at which he began to build a vast empire that would eventually cover most of Asia and large parts of the Middle East and eastern Europe.

Named Temujin at birth, the boy who would eventually become Genghis Khan endures a difficult childhood, but his early experiences give him a strength and determination that distinguish him in later life.

Temujin’s father, the leader of a minor nomadic Mongolian clan, dies after being poisoned by a rival clan when Temujin is still a young boy. In response, his own clan exile Temujin and his remaining family, regarding him as too young to take over his father’s leadership role. Later still, he is kidnapped and tortured, but eventually he manages to escape and, with guidance from his mother, Hoelun, begins to form important alliances with other clans…


Central to Temujin’s development, and the film’s narrative, are his relationships with the people closest to him: his long-suffering mother, childhood friend and blood brother turned rival Jamuka, and first wife, Borte, who at one point he has to rescue after she too is kidnapped by a rival clan. There is also plenty of action in the form of protracted battle scenes, but By The Will Of Genghis Khan attempts to show something of the man behind the warrior; a man who exercised what, at the time, was a remarkable tolerance for different religions, and a willingness to engage in negotiations before putting his enemies to the sword.


Largely shot on location in Russia and Mongolia, By The Will Of Genghis Khan should be much better to look at than it is. Unfortunately, much of the film appears to have been shot on less than premium quality digital cameras, giving the film a flat, at times almost amateurish quality that negates the effect of some stunning scenery.

It may seem unfair to criticise a film for limitations that are probably due to a restricted budget, but given the ambitious nature of the film, and the director’s obvious desire to shoot an historical epic, there are clearly elements of the film that were compromised by a lack of funds. Some of the battle scenes, for example, come close to looking like the weekend antics of an historical re-enactment society, with just not enough men or horses to do the job. Apparently, the Mongolian army were on hand to help with certain scenes, but it doesn’t really show.

Perhaps even more problematic is the overblown dialogue, overflowing as it is with laboured, quasi-poetic lines that are meant to be profound but border on parody. Some of the performances don’t help either, with too many of the cast engaging in hammy, melodramatic overacting.

On the plus side, By The Will Of Genghis Khan at least attempts to show what motivated Genghis Khan in his conquests, and presents a reasonably balanced view of the effects of his empire building. Eduard Ondar is, for the most part, convincingly stoic as Genghis Khan, and has to be commended for faring so well with a script that doesn’t do him any favours.

There may be a lot wrong with By The Will Of Genghis Khan, but it’s certainly nothing like as bad as The Conqueror, the 1956 turkey starring John Wayne as Genghis Khan, and it’s unlikely to be bettered by an upcoming Hollywood biopic of Genghis Khan with Mickey Rourke in the title role. According to recent reports, Rourke claimed the new film will be directed by John Milius, the Hollywood screenwriter and director who is perhaps best known for writing Apocalypse Now - and for directing Conan The Barbarian. By The Will Of Genghis Khan may be a little flat visually, and curiously dull given the overblown dialogue and acting, but at least its central character doesn’t resemble a punch-drunk plastic surgery victim, and it doesn’t have the overall feel of an extended heavy metal video as filmed by a swords-and-sandals fantasy fanatic.


By The Will Of Genghis Khan fails to really engage, but it’s not without its merits, if you’re prepared to overlook certain shortcomings. With a bigger budget and better writing it could have been so much more impressive, but it’s a flawed historical epic that doesn’t quite achieve what it sets out to do. JG

REVIEW: DVD Release: Cave Of The Yellow Dog

Film: Cave Of The Yellow Dog
Release date: 5th July 2010
Certificate: U
Running time: 93 mins
Director: Byambasuren Davaa
Starring: Batchuluun Urjindorj, Buyandulam Daramdadi, Nansal Batchuluun, Nansalmaa Batchuluun, Babbayar Batchuluun
Genre: Drama
Studio: Palisades Tartan
Format: DVD
Country: Germany/Mongolia

The director of The Story Of The Weeping Camel takes a different look at life in the Mongolian wilderness, having previously followed a family of nomadic shepherds and their camels to award-winning success.

Meet the Batchuluuns. They’re outdoor types - which is just as well, as they lead a nomadic existence as livestock farmers in the mountains of western Mongolia. There’s father and mother and their three young children – and, yes, there will soon be a dog.

The eldest daughter, Nansal, returns to the family yurt, from her urban boarding school, to much parental anguish. Wolves have killed two of their precious sheep and, from talking to other farmers in the area, it’s clear to the family this is an ongoing threat. With an increasing number of farmers moving to the towns in search of a ‘better’ life, there are fewer and fewer people to keep watch over any sheep. Suffice to say that Mr and Mrs Batchuluun are concerned about the future.

So, father is not best pleased when Nansal returns from a fuel-gathering trip one day with a small white dog in tow. She names him Zochor (Spot) – how comforting that dogs’ names, at least, cross cultural boundaries. “It has probably lived with wolves and will either kill our sheep or lead the wolves right to them,” says father. Heading off to town on his motorbike, to sell the skins of the two sheep, he makes it clear to Nansal he wants the dog gone by the time he returns.

Nansal, however, is not so easily persuaded – already it’s clear she’s a tough, smart, determined kid, growing up with an insatiable curiosity about the world around her. Out tending the herd one day on horseback – just one of many ‘adult’ responsibilities she must undertake from an early age – she is distracted, loses Zochor and gets lost herself searching for him. Finding Zochor just as its getting dark, with a storm breaking, she takes refuge with her grandmother in her yurt.

Her grandmother tells Nansal about the legend of the Cave Of The Yellow Dog. Suitably impressed, Nansal is finally reunited with her anxious mother who has come out looking for her in the darkness. Along with relief, we’re left with the feeling that it can’t be easy keeping your eye on your children in a playground that extends hundreds of miles into the wilderness…


What follows these early scenes is an extraordinary insight into the lives of this resourceful, loving family. Their very existence brings new meaning to the phrase ‘sustainable living’. Every day they must battle the elements, gather fuel, guard the sheep and themselves from wolves and vultures, create food from what they have around them (there’s an impressive lesson in cheese making from mother) and knock up the odd dress from scratch on the sewing machine. And then, of course, there’s the changing seasons – which means moving to new grazing areas. The dismantling of the yurt is a fascinating process – as is the packing of all their worldly goods onto oxen carts (and with three children, a house and a herd to take with them, they don’t travel light), and the heading off, literally, to pastures new.

But life’s not all uphill – there are many heartwarming moments between parents and offspring. Mother in particular seems keen on bestowing some philosophical wisdom on her eldest. “Stretch out your palm tight in front of you and try and bite it,” is one bit of curious advice she gives the child while slicing cheese one day. “I can’t!” protests Nansal. “There you are, then,” replies her mother. “Even when things are right in front of us, we can’t always have them.” With her grandmother, Nansal is curious about reincarnation. “Could I come back as a child?” she asks her. “See those grains of rice falling into the pot?” comes the reply, “try and land one on the tip of that needle.” Failing the impossible task, Nansal is advised “And that’s how hard it is to come back as a child.” Between her mother and her grandmother, young Nansal has a lot of wisdom to digest.

Whether or not you’ve seen Weeping Camel, this story stands proudly as a parable of life’s possibilities and limitations, and how we must all come to terms with them – wherever we live. Yes, the plot is fictional but the family – and their environment – is real. Nansal’s natural performance is particularly impressive at such a young age – her resourcefulness and charm bestow an irresistible screen presence. And, for their part, the parents contribute a nicely judged supporting role, revealing just what it takes to bring up a family in the wilderness. And the dog? Oh, yes, he’s cute. You can see why Nansal wants to keep him.


A delightful, fascinating and thoughtful docu-drama that will stay with you long after those dramatic mountain scenes have faded from view. CS