Bodrov
Old-school big-canvas specialist Sergei Bodrov stands as testimony that Russian cinema is on a roll.
The humanist helmer's Genghis Khan epic "Mongol" opens Stateside in June as part of a planned 30-territory 2008 cavalcade, after his tale of the legendary horseback warrior wowed auds in Russia last year.
"Mongol," at $17.5 million the largest-scale Russian-Asian co-prod to date, toplines Japanese superstar Tadanobu Asano, making it a must-see for Japanese auds who get the foreign Oscar-nommed actioner in April.
Bodrov's 14th feature repped not only Russia but Kazakhstan at the Oscars, given that it was mostly shot in the huge Central Asian republic famously lampooned by "Borat."
Ironically, the Russian-born Bodrov recounts that "Borat" was "part of the reason" he was able to finance "Mongol": After becoming the butt of Sacha Baron Cohen's massive "glorious nation" joke, the Kazakh government was anxious to show people something different about the country.
Bodrov, 60, was born in the eastern Russian city of Khabarovsk near the Chinese border. He now divides his time between Russia, Germany, Los Angeles and his Arizona ranch. A graduate of Moscow's revered VGIK film school, he first made a splash internationally in 1989 with "Freedom Is Paradise," the first Russian pic ever filmed in actual Soviet prisons and reformatories, seen through the eyes of a young boy in search of his father.
"Prisoner of the Mountains" in 1996 earned Bodrov Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for foreign film, with its adaptation of a Tolstoy tale about reconciliation in the face of war as transposed to the conflict in Chechnya.
Among Bodrov's most recent pictures are Africa-set family film "Running Free," depicting a horse's travails; the romantic fable "Bear's Kiss"; the 18th-century epic "Nomad," about a young boy destined to unite warring tribes; and "The Quickie," a California-set Russian mob crimer, which turned into a hit in Russia.
"It's nice to get this award because it means that you are a real professional," says Bodrov about his ShoWest International Achievement nod.
Bodrov is sure that the booming Russian market -- an average 30% growth in recent years -- will continue to expand "because the country is still underscreened."
These days his homeland is also turning into a fertile breeding ground for helmers: "Nikita Mikhalkov and myself are kind of experienced film directors, but I believe in the new generations. I am sure new interesting directors who can speak to global audiences will come to the fore in Russia."
Contact Nick Vivarelli at
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