The Weinstein Co has had few big hits, but with
Nomad (The Warrior), their luck has just reversed.
As Kazakhstan's first entry in the Academy Awards foreign-language category, this old-fashioned historical epic didn't make it to the final five nominees for 2006. No surprise there, but even more colourful than the bloody pageantry onscreen is the production history of this English-dubbed release.
The movie seems to have been entered in the Oscar derby as the work of three directors: Sergei Bodrov, Talgat Temenov and Ivan Passer. In the dubbed release, only Bodrov and Passer are billed as directors, and Temenov is listed slightly above the costumer designers, credited as local director.
Then there are the studio's press notes, which praise Temenov and co-director Passer but not Bodrov (even though they bill Bodrov and Passer as directors!).
The story of warring tribes on the barren Steppes is set in the 18th century and opens with almost otherworldly lone warrior Oraz (Jason Scott Lee) rescuing and nurturing a Kazakh infant, Mansur (
Goal!'s Kuno Becker), who will grow up to become the saviour. Mansur is the descendant of the legendary Genghis Khan, and his upbringing and training is kept hidden from the vicious Jungar tribe, ruled by Galdan (Doshkan Zholzhaxynov) and, more importantly, defended by clench-jawed Gen. Sharish (Mark Dacascos), a cutthroat on horseback. Mansur's best friend is the brave Erali (Jay Hernandez), who also was taken in by Oraz for his rudimentary killer-training academy.
They grow up to be as close as brothers but fall in love with the lone girl in the tribe, Gaukhar (Ayanat Yesmagambetova, voiced by Bai Ling).
That's pretty much it, as the dialogue in this dubbed version has been pared down to the minimum. There are sword, sabre and dagger fights ad infinitum, cannonballs ripping through castle parapets and a climactic gauntlet-on-horseback ride for a captive Mansur through the enemy camp.
The intrinsically violent film would seem to be suited to adolescent male audiences.
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