'Mongol'

The very words "Genghis Khan" bring to mind a bloody and brutal domination so ruthless that the only release was death. Certainly, much of 13th-century Europe and Asia felt that way as they fell under the sway of the mighty warrior on horseback.

While "Mongol" _ the Russian-Kazakh-Mongolian movie that was nominated this year for Best Foreign-Language Film _ doesn't shy away from the great Khan's less forgiving nature, neither does it paint him as an unredeemable monster. In fact, this visually ravishing film _ shot across the steppes of Russia, China and Kazakhstan _ humanizes this larger-than-life historical figure without sacrificing his ferocity.

This fleshing out of myth gives "Mongol" a certain depth, making other recent, head-hewing, ancient-world spectacles _ 10,000 B.C., 300 _ seem like the computer-generated cartoons that they are. It's "Lawrence of Arabia" without the camels.

"Mongol" follows a predictable hero arc, starting off with a young, 9-year-old Khan _ then named Temudjin (Odnyam Odsuren) _ being escorted by his Khan father from the land of his clan to another so that he may choose a future bride. Along the way, they spend the night in the company of a third clan, and here Temudjin meets Borte (Bayertsetseg Erdenebat), the girl he decides he wants to marry instead.

This change of plans angers the second clan, setting in motion a series of events that leads to Temudjin's enslavement and inspires the adult Temudjin (Tadanobu Asano) to wage war against three different clans, including the one that used to be his family's. He does it all for the sake of his true love, Borte (played by Khulan Chuluun as an adult). By the end, it's hard not to root for that bloodthirsty lug. He just wants to be loved. Is that so wrong?

"Mongol" feels like an old-fashioned epic, before the age of CGI overdose.

There's a grandly impressive final battle, but even the frequent violence, while far from antiseptic, isn't quite as gruesomely graphic as it might have been in modern Hollywood's hands.

But director Sergei Bodrov ("Prisoner of the Mountains") has taken one cue from America: He leaves the ending open for a sequel, as "Mongol" is meant to be the first of a trilogy. After all, love might not conquer all, but warring Mongols sure do.

In Mongolian with English subtitles.

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"MONGOL"

3 stars

R (violence), 126 min

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© 2008, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.