TALK ABOUT EPICS...
Hello darlings, it's been a while since I've posted. Have a pretty good excuse involving 2 different long trips over 3 weeks, will post the pics from Washington State's Long Beach Peninsula on Flickr when I get a moment. Also when I get directions 'cause I'm NOT the greatest techie in the world. But digital pics I can take, and I have photos from Ireland, Greece, Venice and Croatia also waiting, plus my Egypt slide show. I just got them all organized so just need to make'em accessible for a while. Stay tuned.
In the meantime - get your butts into the arthouse theater and see MONGOL! This is the Oscar nominated Kazakh/Russian film that was shot in Mongolian, appropriate because the brave kid, loving husband and father shown is... Temudgen. Also known as Temujin (love those alternative spellings, sigh) or Genghis Khan. Yup, my lord Conqueror of 1/5 of the world. The movie is appropriately harsh, violent, a bit supernatural at times, and beautiful, the location steppes vast, windswept expanses of grasslands and deserts. Harsh climate, harsh society but producing interesting, tough people. Borte, Mrs. Genghis, is wonderful, an outspoken little girl who becomes a strong woman, advisor as well as much loved wife. Jamuukha, bloodbrother turned bad enemy, is played by the Chinese guy who's the nutty general in 7 Swords. He's kind of odd looking, complete with mohawk hairdo, but wildly charismatic, singing Mongolia throat songs while drunk as a skunk, cracking his neck before fights, laughing and plotting. Could EASILY slash him with Temudgin, and wouldn't that put the cat among the pigeons.
And then there's Temudgin. I sure didn't expect him to be played by a Japanese guy - and what a guy! Asano Todanobu is breathtaking, a tiger hiding under a quiet, very poised exterior. And that fine featured face is NOT particlarly hidden by Temudgin's historically accurate auburn beard and gobs of long hair. The hair, I'm happy to report, is Mr. Asano's. I'm deeply hoping the director does part 2 (it ends just as he becomes Khan of Khans and is renamed Genghis) and in the meantime I'm going to get my hands on the remake of ZATOICHI and see Asano-san in another famous role, they don't call him the Japanese Johnny Depp for nothin'.
In the meantime - get your butts into the arthouse theater and see MONGOL! This is the Oscar nominated Kazakh/Russian film that was shot in Mongolian, appropriate because the brave kid, loving husband and father shown is... Temudgen. Also known as Temujin (love those alternative spellings, sigh) or Genghis Khan. Yup, my lord Conqueror of 1/5 of the world. The movie is appropriately harsh, violent, a bit supernatural at times, and beautiful, the location steppes vast, windswept expanses of grasslands and deserts. Harsh climate, harsh society but producing interesting, tough people. Borte, Mrs. Genghis, is wonderful, an outspoken little girl who becomes a strong woman, advisor as well as much loved wife. Jamuukha, bloodbrother turned bad enemy, is played by the Chinese guy who's the nutty general in 7 Swords. He's kind of odd looking, complete with mohawk hairdo, but wildly charismatic, singing Mongolia throat songs while drunk as a skunk, cracking his neck before fights, laughing and plotting. Could EASILY slash him with Temudgin, and wouldn't that put the cat among the pigeons.
And then there's Temudgin. I sure didn't expect him to be played by a Japanese guy - and what a guy! Asano Todanobu is breathtaking, a tiger hiding under a quiet, very poised exterior. And that fine featured face is NOT particlarly hidden by Temudgin's historically accurate auburn beard and gobs of long hair. The hair, I'm happy to report, is Mr. Asano's. I'm deeply hoping the director does part 2 (it ends just as he becomes Khan of Khans and is renamed Genghis) and in the meantime I'm going to get my hands on the remake of ZATOICHI and see Asano-san in another famous role, they don't call him the Japanese Johnny Depp for nothin'.