Genghis - The Legend Of The Ten (2012)

Locked in a civil war with the rebellious Hulin tribe, the hordes of Genghis Khan (aka Chinggis Khaan aka Temujin) are stricken by plague and so a ten-man squad (an "aravt") is dispatched into the mountains to retrieve The Great Physician, a renowned healer.

On the way, they come across a burned-out homestead where they discover an abandoned baby and immediately adopt him into their group - little realising he is the son of Harkhor (G.Zolboot), the son of Hulin leader Hukhtumur (Ayurdadi), who is now tracking them believing the aravt responsible for the death of his family.

Meanwhile, The Great Physican and his granddaughter Unumunkhlei (D.Ganqeqeg) have been captured at their camp by Hukhtumur, who needs the Physician's skills to cope with his own illness.

Just to make matters even more complicated, the Hulin tribe has a treacherous snake in its midst who is seeking to turn events to his own advantage.

I believe this was the first Mongolian film to hit the West and what a way to introduce yourself to the world.

Filmed on location in Mongolia, with an all-Mongolian cast, this couldn't look more authentic and it is a visual treat, from the ruggedly-interesting faces of the cast to the fine detailing on the arms and armour of the warriors.

The sweeping landscape provides a suitably epic backdrop for this nicely paced swords-and-saddles adventure that works best when focussing on the tense cat-and-mouse hunt by the troops on either side of the conflict as they attempt to complete their missions.

Although the DVD blurb talks about great battles, this movie is really more about the samurai-like code of honour and loyalty (to each other and to their ruler) the aravt live by.

Of course, there are a number of fight scenes, but these are really only skirmishes - and unfortunately this is where  occasional weaknesses show themselves with some odd framing and editing of shots.

The front cover of the DVD proclaims this as "the untold story of the greatest warrior in history". It isn't. It also shows a massive horde of cavalry charging at the viewer: this scene doesn't appear in the film either.

There's also blurb on the back of the DVD box about these ten soldiers being Genghis Khan's elite bodyguards - this is also nonsense.

They are simply a unit of soldiers chosen for an important mission. Genghis Khan doesn't even appear in this movie which is named after him (I suspect by Western distributors). Calling this film Genghis makes as much sense as calling a World War II movie about a squad of British soldiers Churchill.

It's almost as though film distributors feel the need to "dumb down" foreign movies, especially when they come from exotic locales like Mongolia, because they don't believe Western audiences are smart enough to take a film as it is.

For gamers seeking inspiration with a different cultural experience, and don't have an issue with subtitles, then Genghis: The Legend Of The Ten is a great starting point as an insight into Mongolian life during the reign of Genghis Khan. 

Here's hoping we get more of these historical tales coming out of Mongolia now.