Potomok Chingis-Khana
USSR 120m Dir: Vsevolod Pudovkin
Original Screenplay
I've come to the conclusion that soviet-era films are not for me. Silent films can be difficult to watch for anyone who grew up with sound era films but I found this particularly impenetrable.
The film follows a Mongol trapper, Bair, who is captured by the British army occupying Mongolia and discover he is a descendent of Genghis Khan so they use him as a puppet leader for their regime.
Like most soviet films it's essentially a piece of propaganda. It ends with an uprising and it implies the soviets are great and makes the British look bad. Now look, occupying Mongolia and installing a puppet leader does sound like something we'd do but that's one area we Brits have not messed up. Indeed, it was actually the soviets who were doing the exactly same thing the British were doing in the film!
Hidden amongst the propaganda is a surprising element of ethnographia. They really filmed a cham dance at a Buddhist monastery and the elements of local culture shown on screen are generally real. I found this the most interesting part of the film and it's great to see culture like this captured on film, even if it's part of a work of fiction rather than a documentary.
The other thing I liked about the film was the ending when Bair has had enough of his treatment at the hands of the British and single-handedly goes on the rampage. It's a hugely triumphant moment that the character really deserves to have, even if the idea of one guy taking on a whole army and winning seems unlikely.
I could see the value in some parts but for me this was too slow and it's difficult to see past the historical inaccuracies created for propaganda purposes.
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