About Mongol movie
Don’t scorn a cub,
he may turn out to be the son of a tiger
Mongolian saying
The East and West, despite Kipling’s claim that they will never meet, are being united for the new film by Sergei Bodrov Sr., “Mongol. Part One”. The project, with a budget of 15 million euros, is a major international co-production with the participation of Russia, Germany, Kazakhstan and the USA.
Even before reaching the screen, “Mongol. Part One” has been recognized as a key project with multi-million budget.
The director of the film is Sergei Bodrov Sr., a filmmaker with an established name who has won renown in Russia and abroad. One of his films, “The Prisoner of the Caucasus”, was nominated for an Oscar. His next film, “The Quickie”, was in competition at the Moscow International Film Festival. A more recent film, “Bear’s Kiss”, was in competition at the Venice International Film Festival.
The screenplay for “Mongol. Part One” was written by Bodrov with Arif Aliev, with whom Bodrov worked on the screenplay for “The Prisoner of the Caucasus”. The script for “The Mongol. Part One” has been translated into several languages.
The film was shot in the Mongolian language.
The shooting took place, for the most part, in China and Kazakhstan. The main location for the action was Inner Mongolia, a Chinese province inhabited by more Mongolians than Mongolia itself.
The film’s chief artist is Dashi Namdakov, an artist whose works can be founded in the world’s most prestigious galleries and museums and whose sculptures are featured in the private collections of the Russian President and the leaders of many foreign states.
The directors of photography are Sergei Trofimov, who shot two Russian box office hits of recent years, “Night Watch” and “Day Watch”, and the Dutchman Rogier Stoffers, who shot “Quills” and the Oscar-winning ”Character”.
The film is being edited in Los Angeles. The film’s editor is Zach Staenberg, the winner of an Oscar for “The Matrix”.
The lead role in “Mongol. Part One” is being played by an international star, the Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano, who has appeared in such renowned films as Nagisa Oshima’s “Taboo” (“Gohatto”) and Takeshi Kitano’s “Zatoichi”.
One of the main roles, that of Targutai, enemy of Temudgin, is played by the actor Amadu Mamadakov, star of “The 9th Company”, directed by Fyodor Bondarchuk, and the television series “Soldiers”, as well as being a member of the Et Cetera theater troupe. Amadu is the only Russian actor taking part in the project.
To play the role of Borte, wife of Temudgin, the director selected a Mongolian student-journalist, Khulan Chuluun.
The role of Dzhamukha — Temudgin’s friend — is being played the Chinese filmstar Honglei Sun, who starred in the renowned film “Seven Swords”, directed by Hark Tsui.
The film has enough major battle scenes to justify comparisons with Sergei Bondarchuk’s adaptation of “War and Peace”.
The shooting of the film began in September of 2005 and finished in November of 2006. The film will be released in cinemas in the autumn of 2007.