"Ardak Amirkulov's 1990 historical epic about the intrigue and turmoil preceding Genghis Khan's systematic destruction of the lost east Asian civilization of Otrar is unlike anything you've ever seen."
Kent Jones, www.seagullfilms.com
commentaries
The ancient city of Otrar was once the center of the nomadic civilization
in Asia. Its destruction was decided by Genghis Kahn. Kiptchak
Ounjou, both a witness and a participant, tells the dramatic story of
the people crushed by the Mongols because they were divided by
hatred and plots. The quite well organized Mongols manage to defeat
the Muslims torn by all kinds of rivalries.
“In 1987, Kazakhfilm decides to entrust the shooting of this historical
complex film The Fall of Otrar to the director who was still a student
of cinema. For a long time the young director had been attracted by
the national history, but he needed a great courage to tackle such a
project. He went into deep studies of historical texts related to Genghis
Kahn’s invasion and read countless books about the events of the 13th
century in order to find a cinematic form for this episode of the natio
nal his story.”
T. Smailova, Festival International du Cinéma Asiatique