Sergei Bodrov Speaks To Prost Amerika

His latest work is a biopic of the early years of Temudgin, or Genghis Khan as we commonly know him. Selected to appear the 2008 Seattle International Film Festival, "Mongol" has caused a few controversies about how this legendary historical figure is viewed. Sergei Bodrov spoke to Prost Amerika while in Seattle to promote the film.

May 30, 2008

PA: Do you think the film is realistic to the life of Genghis Khan?

Bodrov: Yes. Completely.

PA: Obviously a lot of research went into it.

Bodrov: Yes.

PA: Does it actually matter in the context of a movie whether it is accurate?

Bodrov: No.

PA: The casting of Asanabo, a Japanese, in the lead role in Mongol caused some controversy. What was your take on the issue?

Bodrov: It was fine. What was controversial in Mongolia was my approach to the story of Genghis Kahn. For casting I need the best people, and Asanabo was the best.

PA: How did he cope with learning Mongolian?

Bodrov: It was tough.

PA: How did you overcome any difficulties working with actors who only spoke Mongoloian?

Bodrov: If you’re working with really great actors, it’s easy to find ways of communicating. The larger problem was cast and crew who spoke Chinese, German and Urdu amongst others and sometimes we had to slow down while translators assisted us.

PA: History, especially Western history, has vilified Genghis Kahn as a brutal warlord and tyrant. Was he a good man or a bad man?

Bodrov: There’s no doubt he was a generous leader. He was very loyal to his people, and also a military genius, but we are too quick to judge people who lived 800 years ago. Think of what acts of brutality we’ve seen in the last century. Think of what white men have done more recently, Stalin and nuclear weapons.

PA: Is there also perhaps due to an element of racism?

Bodrov: Absolutely, of course. The white man couldn’t accept the conquest by an Asian people and wanted to find an explanation.

PA: Is there going to be a follow-up, a sequel?

Bodrov: I’m thinking about it.

PA: You worked for the Soviet magazine Krokodil in the 1970s. What are your recollections of journalism in the Soviet era?

Bodrov: Krokodil wasn’t a satirical magazine but it was interesting because people would send us in letters to complain which they wouldn’t send in to official papers. We had a huge department of about thirty people just to read them. We sent journalists to Siberia, the north, the south just to meet these people and write stories about them. Of course there was censorship, so we used to write "between the lines" and our readers would read "between the lines". It was very challenging. Sometimes we would actually get the magazines to printing and then have to destroy thousands of them. In the movies it was even more difficult and many didn’t make it to the shelves.

PA: What is the state of the Russian film industry?

Bodrov: It’s an interesting subject. For most studios, it’s still not a matter of money and quantity, but of quality. I’m now seeing some very interesting Russian movies.

PA: Which ones recently have you enjoyed?

Bodrov: Nightwatch Daywatch, an example of Russian horror. You’ll have to watch out (laughs) ‘The Russian Are Coming."

PA: Are you harking back to the famous Colin Welland speech at the Oscars, when he said the same thing about the British film industry?

Bodrov: Yes. Absolutely.