Absolutely Fantastic

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

There are many historical distortions in the movie. Biggest fiction is that Ablai Khan and Galdan never fought each other (Ablai Khan was born in 1711, where Galdan died in 1697). And Zhungars are not conquered by Kazakhs as shown in this movie! During Galdan's rule, Central Asian countries were no match to Zhungars-Mongols (even Khalkhas-Mongols).The movie, itself is OK to watch. Just remember that it is a historic fiction movie.

IMPORTANT PARENTAL ADVISORY -- IT'S SAFE!!: This is one of the few modern historical epics I'd recommend as "safe viewing" for youngsters old enough to understand it -- maybe late-elementary/early-middle school? If you love history, especially the history of important, ancient areas and peoples of the world, areas that many of us westerners (self included) know too little about, this movie should whet your appetite for learning more about the fascinating, complex, very ancient Steppe peoples. While this movie deals with a national epic of the 18th century, the Steppe peoples who became the Kazakhs have very, very old and rich traditions which are reflected in the actions and understandings of Nomad.I would agree with some other posters that if someone is looking for an American Western Epic set in a completely inappropriate historical context, this movie is not for you. If you think Braveheart and Gladiator were great "historical" movies, appropriate for young children, Nomad is probably not for you.For historians who already have a fair grasp of Kazakh history, this movie might seem a bit over-generalized with too many inaccuracies -- I really don't know, since I don't know Kazakh history, but the movie felt that way to me. I confess to being personally "irritated" with inaccuracies and sweeping generalizations in American Civil War flicks. However, I have to admit that a film encompassing the American Civil War period, a film which was designed to introduce the essence of that conflict to people of other nations (especially non-western nations), would have to take a few liberties with details, particularly if the film was set to run less than twelve hours! I REJOICED that Nomad did not over-emphasize or glorify graphic violence, nor pander to prurient interests -- for me, that says something positive about the modern Kazakh mentality! As one Wikipedia article indicated, Kazakhs in Nomad were shown as extraordinary horsemen. It was only right, then, to see equestrian action sequences that used real horses and competent riders, instead of relying on computer FX. (BTW: Though I didn't examine every instance, the horse bridles/bits/tack that I did observe in Nomad were not even as harsh as popular American "cowboy" tack, and any "suspicious-for-trip-wire" action events I noticed were quickly followed by the horses getting up and walking around "just fine".) I do wish the lead roles had been played by native Kazakhs. But as for the actors in Nomad not looking like Kazakhs -- well, I've never been to Kazakhstan, but internet articles describe Kazakhs as a physiologically diverse people, with complex heterogenous genetic admixtures. Is that not true? As for the movie being badly written or badly acted or "corny" by our standards, umm, I've found that many of us westerners, especially us Americans, often just don't "get" the mindset and artistic expression of other peoples, and so we judge the product as poor, by our standards. But later, usually too late to save face, we discover that the problem was lack of understanding on our part. (I confess to having a humbling history of judging Russian symbolic thinking as "simplistic".) Nomad was a fascinating viewing experience for all of my family. I hope that Kazakhstan, and other areas of the world less-well-known to us westerners (especially to us Americans), will produce MORE films of this caliber, inviting us to see a glimpse of their culture, on THEIR terms, and NOT pandering to OUR embarrassing dumbed-down national aesthetic (as so many of us, sadly, seem to expect).

this movie let me down decidedly hard. it was a great concept that was ruined with a horrible script. The story just didn't flow and was disjointed at best. There were so many elements to this story that were not explained, or were forced into place with out any real thought. elements like the love story could have been expanded on a bit more, and the cannons need to be written in better. the whole main character growing up thing needed more about the training he was receiving and less standing around. everyone likes a good "little guy overcomes" story and this showed promise but with the scripting failures wasn't to be. While it did have some pyrotechnics in the final battle sequence it was lackluster due to a lack of choreography. this made for a maddeningly boring watchit could have been so good :(

A film I have seen recently that I really liked was NOMAD. It was directed by Talgat Temenov, Sergei Bodrov, Ivan Passer. It stars Azis Beyshinaliev, Jay Hernandez, Mark Dacascos, Kuno Becker, Archie Kao, Jason Scott Lee, Ron Yuan. NOMAD was written by Rustam Ibragimbekov. This film is a historical film set in 18-th century KAZAKHSTAN, where a young boy Abylai (Kuno Becker), who becomes a KHAN (KING) is destined to make one nation from three JUZS (GROUPS) who fought each other and free them from the Jungars. At the beginning the Jungars attack his mother and the Jungars kill everyone. But one man saves his life and teaches him science and how to fight. After that, Abylai (Kuno Becker) becomes a young man and starts to fight against the Jungars. Before he becomes famous the Jungars capture him. But the Emperor of the Jungars makes a deal with him and gives him a challenge. If he wins, he will be free. The challenge is that Abylai (Kuno Becker) has to fight with one warrior but it is his friend who he will kill by mistake. At the end he becomes a KHAN of all KAZAKH people and makes a KAZAKH nation and they fight against the jun gars together and beat them. But NOMAD is not only about war but also about the love between Abylai and a woman. A famous phrase of Abylai in this fight is 'ARUAK'. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe.