The Fall of Otrar (Amirkulov, 1991): BFI IMAX, 10.45am
This monumental historical epic set in the 13th century, four-years-in-the-making yet slipped into semi-obscurity, was recently restored in 4K and is finally available in all its grandiosity on the IMAX screen and part of the Restored strand.Chicago Reader review:
Shot in 1990, as Kazakhstan was asserting its independence, this brutal
historical epic by Ardak Amirkulov charts political intrigue among the
Kipchaks, a confederation of tribes on the steppes of central Asia,
before they were overrun by Genghis Khan. At 165 minutes this is a
pretty long haul, and the shifting alliances mapped out in the dark and
claustrophobic first part can be difficult to follow; the payoff comes
in the second part, which opens out into dramatic locations and bloody
battle as the Mongols lay siege to Otrar. The film’s respectful
treatment of Islam was welcomed in Kazakhstan as a celebration of
national identity, though Amirkulov’s attitude may be more ambivalent:
as Genghis Khan prepares to execute the governor of Otrar, he points out
two holy men whose marginal religious differences have allowed him to
divide and conquer.
J R Jones
Here (and above) is the trailer.
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