Mongol

Judy and I watched Mongol the other day. Even Judy, who hates subtitles, liked it. The subtitles were needed because all the actors except for one or two are Mongolian and spoke, I guess, Mongolian. They were great.

The movie is the first of a proposed trilogy that's going to tell the story of Genghis Khan, who was -- I'm not making this up -- a really nice guy. Or at least he is in this movie. I'm not sure how much of it is true and how much of it is fiction, but it's all fun. The story begins when the Great Khan isn't a khan but a small boy named Temudjin, who's about to choose his bride. Or that's what he thinks. At the end of the movie he realizes what we've known all along.

After the bride choice, Temudjin's father is murdered. Temudjin goes through more hardships and troubles than any Dickens orphan ever did, but he comes back every time because his enemies all make the same stupid mistake: they don't kill him. You'd think they'd learn.

The scenery and photography are great, and I'm sorry I didn't see this one in the theater. The battle scenes are full of hacking and slashing, without too much quick cutting. No CGI, either, unless it's used for all the blood. Heads roll. But it's really the love story that's the heart of the movie if you ask me, which you didn't.

They don't make 'em like this in Hollywood anymore. Maybe they've forgotten how, or maybe they just don't want to, but if you're in the mood for a sweeping historical epic, Mongol's there waiting for you.