mongol: the rise of genghis khan (sergei bodrov, 2007)

It was interesting seeing how Genghis Khan had a plan to bring together all of the various tribes into one unified "nation." But it was odd ... like an apology for fascism, in the old "he made the trains run on time" mode. He made everyone follow the same law, which was a unifying factor, to be sure, but one of the primary laws was "never betray your Khan" (convenient law for the #1 Khan to come up with). Then there was the part that made me think of the movie preview guy ... "In a time when tribes warred against other ... only one man could bring them together. But there was a woman ..." Mrs. Genghis Khan ... well, the movie seemed to offer up a contemporary version of romantic love, where Genghis Khan did all of this great stuff in part because he loved his wife and she loved him. I'm not as sure about the history as Jean is, but I'm guessing that's a bit of a misinterpretation of history. Finally, the movie suggests that Genghis Khan had God on his side. Well, don't all dictators think something similar? It's like one of those athletes ... "I couldn't have scored that touchdown without the good Lord." God helps Genghis Khan conquer the world, which makes everything he did OK, I guess.