SAVAGE STEPPES
THE FALL OF OTRAR (Giblel' Otrara)
IMDB
dir.
Ardak Amirkulov
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| Miongols! |
This is a Central Asian film that was recently rediscovered
by Martin Scorsese's import distribution company and
now making the rounds as part of the "Along the
Silk Road: The Films of Central Asia" series. The
headliner of this series is
The
Fall of Otrar, a stark and often brutal
Shakespearan story of a squabbling multi-ethnic nation
who refuse to believe the warnings of one of their exiles
who has returned from the camp of Genghiz Khan. Filmed
in sepia tones and color, the Kazakh film made in 1990
at first is off-putting. The print hasn't survived the
fall of the Soviet Union that well and the subtitles
are burned in over grand title cards. The director Ardak
Amirkulov films much of the story in shadowy interiors,
often in cramped conditions. Actually, unlike most epics
with their concentration on travelogue-like photography,
the tight, raw composition instead draws the viewer
to think about the story and the unique history.
Told in two parts, Otrar
begins when a member of the Kipchak people arrives
at the court of the Shah of Korezem, a crossroads
nation administering several ethnicities including
the minority Kipchak. Visiting Arabs, Chinese, Christians
all gather in the capital city plying wares and evidently
scheming on behalf of all the surrounding powers.
The Kipchak man, called the Arrow of Allah (Unzhu),
has spent many years in the service of the Mongol
army and now returns to warn the Shah of the impending
doom gathering on the horizon. However, Korezem is
rife with intrigue and the Shah is suspicious of his
Kipchak subjects. Moreso, he is setting his sights
on attacking nearby Baghdad in order to claim leadership
of the Muslim faith and has heard little about the
successes of the Mongols in Asia.
Suspecting a ruse, the Shah commits the Kipchak man
to the hangman for a series of tortures in order to
get the truth out of him. Unzhu passes through several
hands as the various factions all try to use his doomsaying
to their advantage, but few realizing that he is speaking
the truth about the Mongol menace. Finally Unzhu is
again amongst his Kipchaks but is scornfully treated
by his king Kairhkan who wanted Unzhu to die a martyr
so that his warning would receive the proper weight
in court.
Ignored by the court and cast out by Kairhkan, Unzhu
goes out on his own, wandering the steppes to await
the coming of the Mongols. The film opens up both
in composition and in story in this second part. More
of the action now takes place in the stark snowy climes
of Kazahkstan and in the impressive city of Otrar.
Genghis Khan now sets his sights on Korezem, sending
out spies amongst the traders. The Shah of Korezem
is slow to mobilize his forces but the Kipchaks now
prepare for the inevitable battle. Much of the film
is a paen to the lost culture of these people who
appear as footnotes in history. At the same time,
the pride of the rulers is shown as a dust against
the onrushing storm of the all conquering Mongols.
The actual seige of Otrar is no Return of the King
but it is quite impressive for its portrayal of 13th
century warfare with its ruses, tactics and savagery.
The Fall of Otrar
is marked by its unflinching depiction of the value
of life and death in these medieval times. Many viewers
will come away with an unhappy impression of the many
tortures every people seem to employ, from holding
a boiling brazier over someone's head to cruxificion
to standing a man on his head in order to break his
neck. The final torture which is the fate of Kairhkan
tops them all, as Genghis has the man's face encased
in molten silver as a sign of respect for Kairhkan's
bitter opposition. Perhaps this is a Soviet attitude,
but there is a lot of black humour amidst the horror.
An old man finding the gates of a city opened by traitors,
attempts to close the gates by himself but is too
late as the Mongols stream past him into the open
city. A Mongol warrior, thinking that the old man
was trying to open the gates, rewards him with a golden
tablet.
There are equal measures of Shakespeare and Kurosawa
in The Fall of Otrar.
Although Ardak Amirkulov lacks the resources and technique
of Kurosawa, he does capture the same feeling of humanity
struggling against fate that is in many of Kurosawa's
parables. Both directors drink from the same source:
Shakespeare. In Ran
the daimyo Hidetora wanders as a ghostly presence
through his destroyed castle. In Otrar
the defeated Kairhkan tries to 'raise the spirits'
of his dead soldiers in his wrecked city. There is
a mixed message in all the epic imagery in Otrar.
Kairhkan seeks to die gloriously, among the fallen
bodies of his personal guard but the Mongols have
other ideas and sweep him up in a net. Even the forlorn
scout Unzhu is denied his place with his doomed people,
rejected and cast out. The once proud people, now
just an empty shell on the steppes.
For
the past few weeks I've been listening to odd covers
or tribute albums. Two of them have been stellar covers
of Pink Floyd albums. At first I picked up 
