by Xavier Toby in New Film on Monday 2 June 2008

History is the story of the winners, and western dominated culture recounts few triumphs from the east. Mongol is an effort to correct this balance, and the eastern influence is evident in much more than just the storyline. It is more like a fairy tale or legend handed down through generations, than based on fact, with mythical elements playing a major part, and the character’s motivations remaining simple. It is a refreshing way of telling a story with the emphasis remaining on morals, instead of getting bogged down in politics, and the result is a modern day fable. The costumes look thick and real, the fur and leather another antidote to the decorative armor of many western tales from the Middle Ages. The variety of stunning locations is then captured with sweeping camera work that give a real sense of the environment extremes withstood by the Mongols.